Baby Clementine
by Bubbles2k100
Summary: Follow three year old Clementine's journey to Wellington. She will face many challenges along the way that most toddlers would never have to go through. It's these things that will change her and mould her into a new girl. But will the changes be good, or bad?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - Here it is! Baby Clemmy :D Just so you know, I'm not very good at writing like a three year old, BUT, I'm giving it a shot and hopefully things turn out alright. Also, It's only been ABOUT a year since the apocalypse started but that's not going to change much, except the fact that Clementine was two - three while with Lee and that group, and is still three now in this story :) Anyway, here's chapter 1! - Enjoy**

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><p>Clementine was holding onto Christa's hand tightly as the duo made their way through the dense forestry. Every noise around her caused her little head to turn in its direction, searching for the source. Christa was bent down slightly so she could keep a hold of three year old little Clementine's hand.<p>

The little girl didn't enjoy being lifted, only when she was scared or tired; sometimes if she just wanted a cuddle. She knew walkers were bad and that many people had died to protect her, such as Lee, Kenny and her first friend Duck, but what she didn't understand was _why_ they had to be bad.

Clementine didn't remember much about her mother or father but she remembered Lee clearly. She remember him handing her to Christa and Omid and walking away with tears in his eyes. She tried to follow him but Christa wouldn't let her. Later that day, Omid broke the news to her that Lee had gone to heaven.

Christa always told her, if she sees a walker, to run away or hide. She had found out that's why Lee left. A walker got him and he was going to die. She longed for Lee to give her one last hug, or laugh at her silly little jumbled up sentences and childish antics. She had only been away from him for a few months, but it felt like years.

"Are you tired yet?" Christa asked, smiling down at the little girl.

Clementine shook her head and looked up at Christa. "Chrisa, Omid back _now_?" she asked. Her English wasn't perfect but it was understandable at least, and she would improve as she aged.

Christa picked her up, forgetting the unspoken rule of not lifting her under most circumstances. "Omid's not coming back, sweetie…" she said.

Clementine looked at her confused. "Why not?" she asked innocently.

"He's gone to heaven, with Lee and your mommy and daddy…" Christa explained.

Omid had died a few days before. He had been shot in the chest while waiting for Clementine to stop messing with the water bottle in a rest stop. Christa had saved the little girl just in time. If she hadn't shown up when she did, she'd have been alone, and not having that conversation with the little girl.

Clementine thought about Christa's words for a minute before laying her head against Christa's chest. "Are you _sad_?" she asked.

Christa smiled at the little bundle of hope in her arms. "I am, Clementine. But as long as I have you, everything will be okay!" she said, kissing the girls cap that covered her mad curly hair.

Lee had told her it was in the crib with Clementine when he first found her so he took it as a reminder of her real home for when she grew up. Now, she wore it all the time.

Clementine lifted her head and smiled at Christa. "I'm happy, and you happy! We a _team_!" she said, beaming at Christa as she repeated sometime Omid had told her on many occasions over the few months they had spent together. He always said it to cheer her up.

"_We're_ a team, Clem. That's right!" Christa praised the girl. She corrected the toddler on small mistakes with her speech but never scolded the girl in any way.

Clementine giggled and yawned loudly.

"I think it's time to sleep." Christa said, wrapping her arms around the girl's tiny frame protectively.

"Night, night!" the girl chirped as she snuggled into Christa's jacket.

"Night, Clem." The woman whispered, kissing the child's forehead as sleep took over.

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><p>Clementine woke up still in Christa's arms, but Christa was running through the woods. "Chrisa…?" she asked, wiggling around in the woman's arms.<p>

"Shhh, Clem. It's okay…" Christa tried to keep the girl from moving around.

"Down!" Clementine demanded.

"No, honey. We have to run…" Christa explained.

"Is bad guys here? Do we _hide_?" the girl asked, clinging to Christa as fear surrounded her.

They suddenly burst through some tall grass and into an old abandoned camp. Christa sat Clementine inside a wrecked, white van. The woman quickly pulled something out of her pocket and shoved it down Clementine's little fleece, then zipped the three year olds coat zip up as high as it could go before tucking the laces of her little shoes behind the tongue of the footwear.

She took Clementine's fragile little face in her hands and kissed her forehead. A tear ran down Christa's face as she locked eyes with the frightened toddler. "Chrisa has to go, Clem. Stay here, and be _brave_! You're a big girl, okay? I'll come back! I'll come back to get you, but you have to _stay put_, Clementine. If someone _bad_, like that woman who hurt Omid, comes over here, tell them Chrisa said you need to stay here. If they pick you up gently and act _nice _then go with them, Clem. You'll be _safe_. I love you… Don't cry, sweetheart…" she said sadly.

Clementine had tears running down her face. "I come?" she asked.

Christa shook her head and stuck a hand in her pocket, pulling out a cookie. "Here, Clem. A big cookie, for a big girl! I have to go… stay here!" she quickly said before standing up and running away.

Clementine sat frozen for a minute, leaning against an old box inside the truck, waiting for Christa to come back and take her with her.

Something else happened instead.

A group of angry men ran into the camp. "Which way did she go?" one of them asked.

The men scanned the camp searching for clues. "Look! Footprints! They lead that way!" another one exclaimed, pointing in the direction Christa had ran.

"Good eye, Winston. Come on!" a third man shouted and they all followed Christa's path.

Clementine wandered over to the open door of the van and carefully got out. She looked around; everything was blurred because of her silent tears. "Chrisa?" she called, clutching the cookie close to her chest.

She wandered through the trees looking for Christa, completely ignoring the instructions to stay put. "Chrisa? I'll share!" she shouted into the trees, waving the cookie in the air.

Her voice echoed through the trees, but Christa didn't come back.

She heard someone talking in the distance but it didn't sound like Christa. Clementine was slowing down as her heart shattered into tiny pieces. She was scared but no one was there to cuddle with her. Christa was gone and she didn't know where. The voice got closer, and in an act of pure fear, Clementine hid behind some bushes.

She sat with her knees up to her chest, her lip quavering as she tried to be _brave_, like Christa had told her.

"I heard it coming from this direction." A man with a southern accent said slightly confused.

"Are you sure?" another man with the same kind of accent, but slightly older, asked.

"Yeah, I heard someone calling…" the man trailed off and the area went silent. Footsteps approached the bush she was hiding behind. "Hello?" he called.

Clementine hugged her legs tighter as she tried to be quiet but she couldn't stop the sobs from escaping her mouth and blew her cover.

A man with shaggy brown hair and an orange shirt peered behind the bushes cautiously, but calmed down when he saw Clementine trying to hide. "Hey, darling." He said bending down beside her.

She looked at him briefly before burying her head back into her knees. "Are you alone?" he asked.

"Yes…" she whimpered.

He frowned before putting his hand on out for her to take. "Come here…" he said, turning to look over his shoulder to the other man in the green coat, before facing her again.

She slowly moved close enough to him so he could pick her up and bring her out from her hiding place. "What's your name?" he asked, changing his hold on her and giving her his best smile.

"C…Clementine." She said, drying her eyes and looking up at the man curiously.

"It's nice to meet you, Clementine. I'm _Luke_, and this is _Pete_." He introduced himself and his older friend, pronouncing every word slowly and carefully so he knew the girl understood.

"Howdy." Pete greeted. Clementine smiled at his accent. He sounded just like Kenny, who Clementine remembered little about, but at least it was something. "What age are you?" Pete asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

She was so small and slight but he could tell she had been fed well.

"This many!" she said putting up three fingers. Christa taught her how to count to ten on her fingers and learned that she was three years old not too long ago.

"Three!?" Luke exclaimed. He was shocked that they had just found a baby out in the woods all by herself.

"So where are the people you were with?"

"Chrisa runned away! Bad men follow her and she gone and leave me _here_…" Clementine explained as best she could. She was very smart; she was able to understand most things anyone said to her, but she had trouble saying things without it sounding like gibberish.

"How about we take you back to our house? It's nice and _warm_ and _safe_ there and maybe 'Chrisa' will come and find you there!" Luke asked, using his sleeve to dry away a few tears that remained on her cheeks.

She thought about it for a minute, remembering what Christa had told her. "I stay…" she said.

"Stay? Where?" Luke asked.

"Chrisa telled me to stay p…pu…" she couldn't think of the word Christa had used.

"Put?" Pete asked, putting two and two together.

Clementine nodded her head. "Stay _put_!" she chirped.

Luke chuckled at her innocence and began walking through the trees with Pete close behind. "Well, I ain't willing to leave a little girl out here in the woods to die. What about you, Pete?" Luke explained.

"Not in a million years." Pete said.

"I'm _big_ girl!" Clementine stated, pouting at Luke since he called her a 'little girl'.

"Yeah, Clem. You are a big girl!" Luke laughed again. He forgot what it was like to be around someone 'normal', let alone a little girl.

She started to nibble on her cookie from where she sat in Luke's arms.

"Is that nice?" Pete asked.

Clementine hummed a yes and beamed at the man. "Yummy!" she exclaimed. She looked up at Luke and shoved the slobbery cookie into his face. "Share?" she asked.

Luke took a tiny bite and licked his lips. "Mmm! You're right, Clem. That was yummy!" he said childishly.

Clementine giggled at his nonsense and turned to face forward and see a cabin up ahead. "House!" she exclaimed, pointing into the distance.

"That's _our_ house." Pete said. As the trio got closer to the cabin, and Clementine finished off the last of her cookie, she started wiggling around in Luke's arms.

"Down!" she said. Luke was hesitant at first but she gave him her biggest puppy dog eyes ever and sweetly asked "Please?" He stood her down, watched her raise her hand up high to reach his, and gently took her tiny hand in his. Pete opened the front door and let Clementine drag Luke inside.

They walked into the kitchen and were greeted by three people; two men, one had darker skin; just a little darker than Clementine's, and a woman of the same colour with a big belly.

The other man with hair like Luke's except black and an orange/red plaid shirt stood up from where he was sitting at the table. He looked down at Clementine and raised an eyebrow. "Who's this?" he asked, his accent being noted by the three year old as she had never heard anything like it before.

Luke bent down to pick her up but she pushed him away and shook her head. He stood back up and turned to the man. "This is Clementine. Clem, this is Carlos, Alvin and Rebecca." Luke introduced the standing man as Carlos, the obese man with glasses as Alvin, and pregnant woman as Rebecca.

"C…Car-os…los?" Clementine tried her best to repeat the man's name but failed. He smiled and bent down in front of her. "Hello, sweetie. It's Car-" he started.

"Car…" Clementine repeated.

"-los." He finished.

"…los." She repeated again.

"Carlos." He said, smiling at her warmly.

"Car-los… _Carlos!_" she beamed up at him as she finally pronounced his name perfectly. He stood up and smiled at Pete before walking to the door. "I'm going to get Sarah." He said, and he left the room.

"Who?" Clementine asked, looking at Luke confused.

"Another person from our group; his daughter, Sarah." He explained. S

he turned back around and smiled at Alvin. "Alv…in?" she asked. He nodded his head. "_Alvin!" _she chirped, earning a small chuckle from the man at the table.

Pete opened the door but turned to Luke before leaving. "I'll get Nick." He said.

Luke led Clementine over to the table and helped her into one of the chairs before sitting next to her. She climbed onto the table and crawled across to Rebecca. Rebecca was not smiling like everyone else, but frowning at the toddle on front of her.

Clementine pointed down at her stomach. "Is baby there?" she asked.

The pregnant lady's eyes widened. "Yeah… how did you know that?" she asked.

"Chrisa have baby in belly too. Baby disappear and Chrisa got sad but she not cry…" Clementine slowly explained as she thought of the words to explain what had happened.

Rebecca's gazed softened. "You probably can't pronounce my name, can you?" she asked.

The little girl put her hand up to her face as she mentally took on the challenge. "Reba…? Rubec…?" she asked.

Rebecca smiled slightly before helping the girl out. "Re-bec-ca." she said.

"Re-bec-ca. Rebecca. _Rebecca!_" Clementine finally got it out and giggled from where she sat on the table.

"Better get off the table, Clem. Carlos might not be happy if there are little footprints on his table…" Luke said, from across the table.

She quickly crawled over to him and extended her arms, allowing him to take her off the wooden surface and sit her on his knee.

She was a perfect little girl, it didn't seem like the world was ending outside because she didn't look starved or sad or scared. Her chubby little fingers played with Luke's hand as she sat against him. One hand went to her zip and pulled at it uselessly.

"You okay?" Alvin asked.

"Warm…" she complained. Luke helped her pull down the zip, surprised when a little piece of paper fell onto her legs. She quickly picked it up and opened it out, staring at the scribbles on it confused.

She pushed it towards Luke. "Read?" she asked.

He gently took the page from her and read it out loud. "_Whoever finds Clementine, please take care of her. My name's Christa, although Clem calls me Chrisa…" _

Clementine's eyes widened. "Chrisa?" she asked.

"_I ran into some bandits and I'm leaving her here in this van so they don't hurt her. I probably won't make it far until they find me, so please just keep my girl safe. Thank you." _Luke finished reading and looked up at Alvin and Rebecca's shocked expressions.

"She…" Alvin couldn't find the words.

"Is… Chrisa come back?" Clementine asked, looking at Luke with her big amber eyes. "I…I don't think Christa's coming back, Clem…" Luke said. There was no point in lying to the girl.

Her eyes became sparkly as tears threatened to fall and her bright smile turned to a saddened frown. "Why not…?" she whimpered before breaking down into tears.

She cried loudly and Luke tried to calm her down but she wouldn't stop. "What do I do?" he asked as he stood up and held the little girl close.

Rebecca stood up and approached Luke. "Give her here." She said. Luke quickly handed the distraught child over to the soon to be mother. "Shhh…" Rebecca tried to hush the girl.

Clementine laid her head against Rebecca's chest and bawled her eyes out. She just wanted Christa to come back for her. She didn't want to stay with these strangers in case they were bad. Listening to Rebecca's heartbeat calmed her down a little bit but not enough to stop her crying.

"It's okay, Clem. Big girls don't cry, do they?" Luke asked from where he stood on front of Rebecca.

The kitchen door opened and Pete, Carlos, another man in a blue shirt with a red cap; Nick, and a teenage girl with red rimmed glasses; Sarah, stepped inside. "What happened?" Carlos asked, stepping closer to the upset child.

Luke handed Carlos the note and turned to face Nick, giving him a warning glare as if saying 'don't do anything stupid to upset her more!'

Sarah stepped forward and looked at Clementine closely. "She's so cute!" she exclaimed.

Clementine turned her head slightly to face the new girl. Her teary face scanned the people in the room, giving Nick an extra-long stare before landing on Rebecca. "Better?" she asked, wiping the tears off the little girl tanned face.

"Want Chrisa…" Clementine sobbed as her lip quivered. "Aw, it's okay ,baby girl." Rebecca said, putting her hand on the back of Clementine's head and rocking her gently. There were quiet murmurs from the others in the room but Clementine just focused on Rebecca's quiet humming. The pregnant woman finally calmed the little girl down and smiled at the small child in her arms.

"Are you tired? I think its past your bedtime." She said. Clementine nodded and yawned before laying her head back against the pregnant woman breast. "Here, Sarah. Why don't you take her to bed?" Rebecca asked, handing the girl to Sarah.

Clementine eyed Sarah suspiciously before relaxing into her arms. "Okay!" Sarah said as she approached the door with her new friend.

"Night, Clementine." Alvin said.

"Night night…" she responded, not even half as happy as she had been when they first met.

Sarah carried Clementine up the stairs into a room with a double bed in the corner. She sat Clementine down on the side of the bed and smiled down at her. "Ready to sleep?" she asked.

Clementine nodded her head but looked up at Sarah scared. "Stay!" she begged, putting her hands out and grasping Sarah's shirt.

"Okay, Clem. I'll stay." She laughed, laying down on the edge of the bed.

Clementine cuddled close to her warming Sarah up straight away. They had only been lying there for a few minutes when Sarah heard the soft snores coming from the young girl. She held her closer and went to sleep.

Carlos came up to check on the girls a little time later and found them both asleep in each other's arms. Luke peeked his head into the room. "Everything alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. They're both asleep…" Carlos whispered, walking back out of the room.

"Good." Luke said, stepping back to let Carlos out.

"We need to have a meeting about what we're going to do with the girl." Carlos explained.

"What?! We're keeping her, Carlos! She won't survive out there, you know that! I mean, you're a doctor for crying out loud! What if she gets sick or something?" Luke asked.

He wasn't willing to let Clementine go.

She was growing on him already and they only met a few hours before.

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><p><strong>AN - Good? Bad? Shall I continue or just abandon the task at hand? Whatever you think, I wont be updating for a while, for reason which were outlined in a previous authors note. Over 3,000 words?! You people are lucky ;) Don't forget to Review... You know, maybe I'll leave a little vote here at the end... ;) Hmmmm... Okay, so, I got one!  
><strong>**  
>{PETE LIVES}<br>{PETE DIES}**

**Ahah. I know some of you may think this is an easy choice, but to me, this is a hard one! If Pete lives, that will just give Carver someone else to pick on in the future and Clementine more heartache as she gets to know him and then he just gets taken away (although he may live... ;) ) but if he dies, then Nick will be distraught and things will just go bad! (maybe ;) ) So I'll seeya next chapter, Byeee :D**

**~-Meg xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - I'd like to apologise for the outburst of a 'chapter' that I uploaded before. It was one of those moments where I quickly wrote down my feeling in about two minutes and posted it before I realised what I was doing. Talk about a bad day getting worse... Anyway, I'm back to the cheery, constantly laughing till I cry and my stomach hurts, kinda gal again :D So here's chapter two of Baby Clementine! - Enjoy**

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><p>Down in the kitchen, the group gathered to discuss what they were going to do with the three year old little Clementine. Everyone was standing around the sink and stove, leaning against the counter or standing with their arms crossed across their chest.<p>

"We don't have the supplies…" Carlos stated, a hint of sadness in his voice. He didn't want to abandon the little girl, but he had his own daughter to take care of and didn't want to run out of food or medicine.

"But we have the skills! You're a dad; you know how to take care of a little girl. Even Rebecca seems willing to play her part!" Luke argued, stepping away from the counter and into the middle of the floor.

"We can keep her safe. This 'Christa' woman really desnt want this girl to die…" Nick spoke up, taking his best friends side in the argument. He hadn't even really talked much with the girl and he was always a little cold hearted, but he wasn't the devil; he wasn't agreeing to leave a little girl t die alone in the woods.

"I agree." Pete said, putting his hand on his nephews shoulder. He knew Nick was hot headed and it was good to see him thinking straight for once.

"We have to do this!" Alvin exclaimed, placing a loving hand on his wife's stomach. Rebecca smiled at him before turning to Luke, who had cleared his throat to talk again.

"She isn't like kids from before the apocalypse; she understands the world is bad, plus she seems to be strong willed; able to keep a calm enough head in tough situations. She _is _only three, and she's bound to act her age, but I think she has a chance!" he explained proudly.

"She's _quite_ the little girl…" Rebecca stated, remembering how easy it was to calm her down after receiving the devastating new of Christa probable death. Her words surprised most of the cabin members as she usually didn't trust, or necessarily liked other people beside the friends she was living with now.

Everyone's eyes slowly went back towards Carlos.

Nick cleared his throat before speaking on behalf of everyone. "We ain't gonna keep her if you don't wanna. It's a group decision and if you say no, then we'll… we'll put her back where Luke and Pete found her." He said, diverting his eyes to the floor sadly. When he locked ocean blue his eyes with Clementine's teary amber ones a while back, he saw something he hadn't seen in a long time; Hope, Love, and a questionable glare, which was strange coming from a three year old.

A small smile appeared on the doctor's face. "This is the first time we've all seen eye to eye…" he said, amusement clear in his tone. "She can stay."

A few quiet cheers and sighs of relief erupted around the room as the atmosphere relaxed around everyone.

"I'll take first watch tonight. Y'all better get some sleep, 'cos it's gonna be early rising tomorrow with this little girl to take care of!" Luke said, picking up a rifle from next to the table and walking out onto the front porch.

"I'll take morning watch." Nick told the group, so they were clear that someone would be taking guard when Luke got tired and they weren't just sitting ducks out in the middle of the pines, before departing to his room.

The other cabin members retired to their beds too, but Carlos stayed downstairs and slept on the couch since Clementine and Sarah where in his bed. He decided it would be better if he just let them share until they found an alternative for the little girl.

Clementine awoke happy and hungry.

She sat up in the bed her and Sarah were sharing and turned to look at said teenager. Sarah was fast asleep, snoring softly from where she lay at the edge of the bed. It was a funny sight to see but the three year old covered her mouth to stop the giggles from waking the older girl.

Clementine diverted her eyes to the door that was open slightly, and made a plan; a childish plan, but still a plan all the same.

She crawled over Sarah, who muttered something inaudible in her sleep, and slid off the edge of the bed. A small thud echoed around the room. She turned to look at Sarah still sleeping before taking the first step forward. The wooden floor creaked quietly as Clementine made her way towards the door. She pulled the door open with little difficulty.

Deciding the stairs looked really scary, Clementine backtracked down the hall and stopped at the room next to Sarah's when she noticed the door wasn't closed all the way. She leaned her body against it and listened to it slowly creep open.

When she could finally see inside, she saw someone roll over on the double bed. Her little legs made their way towards the edge of the bed and she looked up to see her brown haired saviour from the day before.

She stuck her finger into her mouth as she reflected back to when this man had found her out in the wild with Pete. She thought about what his name was, rocking back and forth on her toes as she tried to remember it.

_"I'm Luke, and this is Pete." _

She pulled her finger out of her mouth, making a soft popping noise and smiled at the back of the mans head as she stopped rocking. "_Luke_?" she whispered. He stirred slightly but did open his eyes. "Luke!" she called louder, her voice the only noise in the room.

Luke slowly peeled his eyes open and looked forward confused since her couldn't see anything, but the small giggle from closer to the floor dragged his gaze to the little girl. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and smiling down at the girl who returned his greeting with a bright smile of her own.

"Morning…" he yawned, stretching his arms up in the air before letting them fall back down to his side.

Clementine raised her hands, silently asking Luke to lift her onto his knee.

"Someone's an early riser…" Luke said, rubbing his eyes to get rid of his drowsiness.

"Hungry!" she chirped, looking up at him expectantly.

He bent down and pulled her up into his arms before making his way to the door. "And what are you hungry for?" he asked.

When she didn't answer, he looked the newest member of the group in the eyes and silently scolded himself when he saw the confusion in her bright amber orbs. "What do you want to eat, Clem?" he asked, using his most basic words possible.

This was going to take some getting used to…

"I dunno." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, let's go see what's in the kitchen." Luke said, making his way down the stairs. Carlos stirred on the couch as they walked by him and made their way into the kitchen. Luke sat Clementine on the kitchen counter and pulled open the cabinets, searching for a snack for the three year old little girl.

He found a small packet of cracker and pull two of them out. "Here you go." He said, handing them to the girl. She looked at the food briefly before sticking one cracker in her mouth and crunching down on it.

Luke smiled at her as she slowly munched on the snack. "Do you want some water, or something?" he asked, leaning against the sink. She nodded her head as she finished off the first cracker.

Luke pulled a glass out of the top cabinet above the stove and poured half of the water in a glass next to the sink into it. Without thinking, he handed the glass to the girl, letting it go so she was holding it with both hands.

He stood back and yawned while Clementine lifted the glass to her lips. Luke realised his mistake too late, as the glass slipped from her right hand and spilled down her front before falling the ground and smashing into lots of little pieces. The noise caused both people in the kitchen to jump in shock.

Luke looked down at the shattered glass, mentally slapping himself for being so stupid, before lifting his head to see a soaking wet Clementine begin to cry. "Oh…naw, Clem. This ain't your fault!" he said as he stepped in the middle of the glass and pulled her off the counter.

"I'm sorry!" she sobbed, putting her hands up to her face to hide from Luke as he held her on his hip. She had never broken something before; mainly because there was nothing to break out in the dense forestry, and she was scared of the consequences.

"Shhh…Shhh, Clem. It's okay! I can clean it up!" he told her as she wailed in his arms.

He bent down to pick up the glass and showed Clementine the small glistening pieces in his hand. "Look, Clem. It's _fine! _We just need to put it in the _bin!_" he explained, as Clementine whimpered but uncovered her face to see the shards.

"Put it in the bin…" she said, repeating what Luke had told her.

"Yeah! In the bin." He sighed, standing up and approaching the small bin by the back door.

Carlos walked into the kitchen. His eyes went to Luke and Clementine by the bin and then to the broken glass on the floor. "What happened? I heard something smash." He said, approaching the duo. Clementine's lip began to quiver again because she thought Carlos was angry at her for breaking the glass.

"Clementine dropped a glass, but it's okay. No one's hurt." Luke explained, pulling the girls wet shirt away from her skin. Carlos nodded his head before bending down to pick up some of the glass.

Luke stood Clementine down and pointed to the door. "Why don't you go wait in the living room so Carlos and I can clean up in here? Do you understand?" he asked.

"Yep!" she chirped, making her way to the door. She turned to look at the two men one more time, smiling as Luke winked at her, before walking into the hall.

Her attention was instantly drawn to the front door closing and the man in the blue shirt and red cap she had glared at the night before turning to face her. He placed his rifle next to the door and slowly approached her. "Um… Hey." He said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as he looked down at the three year old outside the kitchen.

"Hi." She said, looking up at him curiously. "W…what's your name?" she asked shyly. Her hands remained clasped together on front of her as she waited for the man to reply to her question.

"Nick. You're Clementine, right?" he asked. She nodded her head. "What are you doing out here so early? Is someone in the kitchen?" he asked cautiously taking a step forward.

"Yeah, Luke and Carlos is there." She said pointing to the door next to her.

"Oh, okay." He said, calming down and walking past the girl into the kitchen. She saw Luke and Carlos stand up from the place where the glass had smashed to face Nick just before the door closed in her face.

She followed Luke's instructions and made her way into the living room. Pulling herself up onto the couch, she lay on her back staring at the ceiling while her hand lay against her stomach. She was bored and hungry again.

The cracker Luke had given her earlier didn't fill her at all. Her stomach rumbled as she lay on the couch and she sulked at nothing in particular.

She heard footsteps on the stairs and saw Alvin coming towards her. "Mornin', Clementine." He greeted, making his way into the kitchen. She continued to frown as her stomach begged to be filled.

A few minutes later, Rebecca and Sarah came downstairs and eyed the girl curiously. "Is something wrong?" Rebecca asked.

Clementine sat up and slouched back lazily before whining "I'm hungry!" Sarah scooped her up into her arms and turned to Rebecca.

"Have you not been fed?" the pregnant lady asked.

"I eat crackers but I'm still hungry!" the girl explained, pushing Sarah's arms down. Sarah slowly stood the girl down, getting the hint the she didn't want to be carried, but didn't expect Clementine to grab her hand and cling on tight.

"Let's go get something to eat, then." Rebecca said, leading the two girls into the kitchen where the rest of the group where.

"Luke?" Rebecca asked as she walked into the kitchen. Luke turned to smile at her, waiting for whatever was coming next. "Did you feed Clementine?"

"Yeah, I gave her some crackers." He said, smiling down at the little girl who looked away sadly. Her stomach was pleading with her to be filled but she couldn't do anything to get food except ask; which she had done already.

"Why?" he asked, looking back at Rebecca from where he sat at the table eating some oatmeal.

"She's hungry." Rebecca said, taking a seat next to her husband.

"Sarah, come eat something." Carlos said. Sarah released Clementine's hand and sat next to her father.

"Come here, Clem." Luke said, waiting for the girl to walk towards him. She dragged her little converse across the floor and stood beside Luke's chair. He bent down and pulled her up onto his lap. "Have you ever had oatmeal before?" he asked, pointing at the bowl on front of him.

She shook her head, turned to look at Nick sitting next to her and Luke, and then looked into the bowl in front of her. Luke picked up half a spoon full of his oatmeal and handed it to the little girl. She stuck the spoon in her mouth and swirled the creamy food around her tongue before swallowing it satisfied.

"More?" she asked, looking up at Luke as she gave his spoon back.

"Sure, Clem. Here you go." He scooped up another half spoon and gave it to her.

They continued this process until Clementine burped loudly, earning small fits of laughter to erupt from others around the table and jumped down off Luke's lap. "Can we play?" she asked standing on her toes to seem taller.

"There's nothing to play, Clementine. Maybe Sarah will read to you?" Alvin said, turning to see Sarah's eyes glisten with agreement.

"Yeah! Come on, Clem. I'll read you a story!" Sarah exclaimed, jumping up off her chair and approaching Clementine.

The little girl stepped back. "No! I not wanna nap!" she whined.

"You don't have to nap." Nick said, looking at the girl amused.

Whenever Christa said it was time for a story, that meant she had to take a nap. 'Story' was just another way of saying 'nap' to the three year old who had grown up with _those_ type of guardians; the one's who tricked you into things with misleading words and gestures "No!" she shouted.

Rebecca could see where this was going already. Temper tantrums were the worse.

"Calm down, we're just going to read!" Sarah said, putting her hand out for the younger girl to take.

"I don't wanna!" she shouted, pushing Sarah away as hard as she could; which wasn't very hard. She huffed and ran out of the room.

Rebecca stood up and sighed. "I'll calm her down." She said, leaving the room to find the girl. She walked into the living room to see Clementine sniffling on the floor next to the coffee table. "Clementine."

The girl flinched at the voice and sniffled louder before turning her head and glaring at the woman. "If you don't want to read, just say so. You don't have to shout." She said, slowly making her way towards the girl.

"No." Clementine said angrily.

"Clementine…" Rebecca warned.

The girl turned to face the woman with the same agitated look in her eyes. "I don't want story." She said.

"You don't want _a _story. I'm going to have to teach you how to talk properly…" Rebecca said, losing her patience with the newest member of the group.

"I can talk already…" Clementine said, her anger turning to sadness. She didn't like it when people made fun of her speech. Christa never did it, so why did this woman have to?

Rebecca just stood staring at the girl on the floor blankly. She wasn't even apologising and that made Clementine upset. Her lip began to quiver and tears blurred her vision. She pulled herself up off the floor and made her way to the couch were she climbed up onto the soft cushions and buried her head in the arm so she could cry in peace.

Rebecca sighed and was about to walk over to the girl to apologise but stopped when she heard a familiar voice call out

"Hello?" That gravelly voice could only be one person.

Carver.

"Is anyone home?" he called as someone knocked on the front door.

"Clem…Clementine! We have to go!" Rebecca whispered pulling the girl up off the couch.

"No!" Clementine cried as she fought against the pregnant woman's hold. Rebecca ended up dropping the girl back onto the couch where those huge amber eyes looked up at her so innocently as more tears fell down her face.

What she did next, she regretted instantly.

Rebecca turned and ran back into the kitchen, leaving the girl in the living room to cry her heart out. "Carver's here. We have to leave. Now!" she said, opening the back door and motioning for everyone to run.

They heard the front door open and, in a state of pure fear, panicked and ran. They couldn't afford to be caught by Carver now; not after everything they had gone through to keep away from him.

Clementine continued to cry on the couch as a man with a woolly hooded coat walked into the room. He had a gun out, closely inspecting everything around him, but as soon as he saw the girl, he put it away.

"Hey, darlin'." He said. His voice was really gravely; like he smoked six packs a day. "What's the matter? Where's your folks?" he asked approaching her slowly.

"What's a 'folks'?" she whimpered, rubbing her nose and raising a curious eye at the man.

He chuckled at her question. "Your family, sweetheart." He said.

She looked down at her hands as she remembered Christa leaving her. "Chrisa gone." She said sadly.

The man sat beside her and offered her a comforting smile. "Well, if you want, I'm the leader, the _boss_, of a camp not far from here. Do you wanna come with me?" he asked.

He made sure she understood what he was asking so he wouldn't have to drag her out of the cabin when the time came to leave. He could tell she was young and probably wouldn't understand his accent.

Clementine thought about it for a minute. This man didn't seem so bad. He looked healthy and strong and he wasn't _mean_ like the person who killed Omid. Maybe this was a good thing. "Who are you?" she asked quietly.

"My name's William Carver. But you can call me Bill; or Carver if that suits your fancy." He introduced himself.

Clementine kneeled up and smiled at Carver. "_My name's _Clementine! _But you c…call me _Clem." She giggled as she repeated what the man had said to introduce himself.

"That's a beautiful name, Clementine. How old are you?" he asked, smiling at her from where he sat.

"I'm this many!" she exclaimed, raising three fingers; her index finger, her middle finger and her ring finger on her left hand.

Carver raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms before leaning back in his chair. He couldn't keep around a three year old unless she was already somewhat ready for the challenges ahead. If she couldn't even count to three, then he couldn't bring her with him. "How many is that?" he asked.

She pointed to her index finger, counting "One." Then she pointed to her middle finger and said "Two." before sliding her counting finger to her left ring finger and chirping "Three!" Carver smiled down at the survivor her had recently come across.

"Well done, Clementine. How about we get going?" he asked, quickly eyeing one of Carlos's shirts and smirking as he stood up.

She stood up on the couch and put out her hands, ready for him to carry her.

Carver's face hardened for a minute as he was not so keen on 'being nice', but this girl could grow into a strong leader with his guidance and he was prepared to treat her like his own if that's what it took.

He gently pulled her up with his right hand and sat her on his hip before making his way to the door.

He knew she had been in contact with his missing group members, that shirt had given him all the evidence he needed, and by taking this girl under his wing, he was gaining a valuable member to his community and luring his lost causes back to him like moths to a flame.

* * *

><p>"Where's Clem?!" Luke stopped dead in his tracks, tripping Nick who was running behind him.<p>

Everyone turned to face Rebecca. She just stared at the dirty trail underneath her. "Bec? Where is she?" Alvin asked. He cared for the girl; she was only a baby and needed all the care she could get.

"In…In the living room." Rebecca admitted.

"What?! You didn't bring her?" Sarah squealed. Carlos put his hand on her shoulder. "What should we do?" he asked, turning to Pete for advice since he was the oldest, and dare say, wisest man around.

"We should go back for her!" he said, as if it was obvious.

"I agree." Both Nick and Luke said in unison.

"Carver's there! We can't go back!" Rebecca tried to explain but no one was listening.

"If he lays a finger on her, I'll kill him…" Nick muttered, turning around and facing the way they had run from. Pete was surprised that Nick was saying that, as he was never keen on being close to others beside family members.

"Come on. We're burning daylight!" Luke shouted before running back the way they came with everyone following; even Rebecca.

They ran for about ten minutes; half the time it took them to get to where the started backtracking since they wanted to get to Clementine quickly and save her from the mad man they used to work for.

They burst through the back door and into the kitchen, it didn't look like much had happened.

Luke quickly ran into the living room where, once again, everything looked un-touched. One thing was missing though. "Where is she?!" he gasped, spinning around in his spot in the middle of the room. She wasn't in the living room, _that_ was pretty clear.

Nick led the rest of the group into the living room and frowned when he didn't see Clementine with Luke. "She's not anywhere else in the house…" he said, since he had done a quick sweep of the house, not finding the girl anywhere.

Rebecca felt terrible for leaving the girl for the madman to take, or hurt, or worse. "I…I'm sorry…" she apologised.

She received a few glares but they were quickly brushed off as Luke stood forward, shaking his head. "It's okay… We can get her back!" he said, hitting his right fist into his left hand, almost as if hammering something down.

"How are we gonna do that? We don't know where he's taken her!" Pete asked, clearly not as open minded as his nephew's friend.

"We'll head out; search for her! And _when_ we find her, we can bring her back here." He explained.

"Sounds like a plan." Nick exclaimed, stepping next to his bud and standing tall.

"Let's go!" Sarah chirped, pulling her father towards the front door.

"I really am sorry…" Rebecca whispered as Luke, Nick and Pete walked out of the room and headed for the front door.

"It's alright, Bec. It ain't your fault." Alvin told her, smiling at her lovingly and then motioning for her to follow the others.

She smiled back at him and started out the front door, in search of little Clementine.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - As you know, my updating will be slow but HEY! at least your getting them at least once a week still! That's gotta mean something, right?! So I was thinking, instead of a vote this chapter, how about a Q and A? Leave your questions in the reviews; they can be anything, related to this fic or completely irrelevant to any of my works, and just something fun and random ;) I'll try to answer them all in the next A/N! Until then, *waves goodbye***

**~-Meg xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Sorry about lack of updates; I'm working on ALL of my fics so I'll try update them ALL before Christmas (maybe just after if I get overwhelmed) In other news: The reason I've decided to update this fic is because... _My birthday is in three days! :)_ I'm turning 15 on the 15th :D Hah! So here's a present from? me to you as a birthday mix up :) - Enjoy**

* * *

><p>"Where we going?" Clementine asked, playing with Carver's hood.<p>

"To the truck. It's just up ahead." He said, pushing her hand away from his ear. She was a very curious little girl. "Stop messing, Clementine." He said, his normal anger scaring the girl.

She stopped what she was doing and frowned at the ground. Carver didn't realise how long he had been listening to her asking questions or humming curiously until she stopped.

They came upon a white truck a few minutes later and three people surrounding it. "_What _is _that?_!" a man in an army cargo jacket asked rudely. He had an AK-47 in his hands.

"She's adorable!" a lady with ginger hair said in a southern accent; which reminded the girl of Luke, Nick and Pete.

"You found a _kid_?! Did you steal her?" another man with a green hat asked, clearly unamused by the presence of the child.

Carver rolled his eyes but stood tall in front of the people. "This is Clementine. I found her '_alone'_ in some cabin, not too far from here actually." he explained. He handed Clementine over to the woman, who gratefully took the girl in her arms and smiled down at her. "Hello, sweetie." She greeted, fixing her grip on the child.

"Hi…" Clementine said unsurely. She didn't know if she could trust these people. They gave her a bad feeling in her stomach; she wished she had just let Rebecca pick her up back at the cabin.

"It's alright, I ain't gonna hurt you. My name's Bonnie, darlin'." Bonnie introduced herself, giving Carver a sideways glance before looking back at the three year old.

The man with the green hat approached Carver and sighed. "I've got some bad news…" he muttered.

Carver's eyebrows furrowed together as he stared into the other man's eyes. "Well, what is it?" he hissed.

The man looked over his shoulder to the scary man with the gun and then back to Carver. "That asshole over there, forgot to fill the tank. We're stuck out here 'till someone comes out here to get us." He explained.

"Troy!" Carver roared, causing the man with the gun to drop his weapon and turn to face the leader. Carver just stared at him angrily.

"C'mere Johnny…" Bonnie called, causing the man with the hat to make his way towards her and Clementine. "Hope he gets the shit beaten out of him…" Johnny muttered as he got closer to the two girls.

"Don't be using that language! We've got a little one now." Bonnie said, smiling down at Clementine who smiled back happily.

Johnny shrugged his shoulder before turning to face the truck. "We'll be camping out here for the night. In the cold. It might even rain…" He said, obviously annoyed that Troy forgot to put gas in the truck.

"It'll be alright, Johnny. You need to start thinking positive; ain't that right, Clem?" Bonnie said enthusiastically.

"Yep!" the girl chirped giving Johnny her best smile. She saw a small smile appear on his face but he quickly cleared his throat and put back on his blank expression. "Yeah, well that's easier said than done…" he muttered.

Bonnie shook her head, since she also noticed his small smirk, but didn't say anything. "Well, seems we've got a long day ahead of us. What do you wanna do, sweetie?" she asked, turning away from Johnny and paying full attention to Clementine. The girl shrugged her shoulders and gave Johnny's back a curious look.

"I think you'll like Johnny. He tries to act tough and emotionless but he's not at all bad once you get to know 'em." Bonnie explained.

Clementine nodded her head before tasting something familiar as her tongue slid across her back teeth. "Do you have a cookie?" she asked. That sweetness in her mouth made her crave for more.

Bonnie laughed. "Naw, Clem. Haven't had cookies since this whole thing happened." Clementine frowned before locking eyes with the woman. "I gived some of my cookie Luke…" she whispered.

Bonnie almost dropped the girl. "You know Luke?!" she whispered, holding Clementine closer.

"Yeah! And Sarah, and Pete!" she said excitedly.

Bonnie couldn't help but laugh at the young girl's statement. "Are they okay? Does Carver know?!" she suddenly remembered the situation and worried about her old friends.

"They're at a big house! _ALL_ the way back there." Clementine explained, pointing back the way her and Carver came. The cabin was pretty small but to her it was huge.

"Shhh… We can't let Carver hear!" the freckled woman whispered harshly. She didn't want to get her friends into trouble, even though they did leave her behind; but that was her choice and she couldn't blame them.

"Why? Will he get mad?" the three year old asked.

"He's not all bad, Clem. But he can be a bit… overactive… sometimes." Bonnie explained. After seeing the fear in the girl eyes, she rubbed small circles on the toddlers back and said "Don't worry. You can stick with me and we'll stay out of his way; stay on his good side, alright?"

Clementine agreed, not vocalising her thoughts with her new 'friend' just in case she wasn't as nice as she came across in the first ten minutes of meeting.

"Bonnie! Come 'ere." Troy called.

Bonnie sighed and started making her way over to her hot headed group member, but stopped abruptly and turned to Johnny. "Keep an eye on her." She demanded as she handed Clementine to him.

"What?! You know I don't like children…" he protested, awkwardly shifting his hold on the little girl.

"Just hold her!" Bonnie laughed, finally heading towards Troy and Carver.

"Uh… You wanna sit down?" Johnny asked, frowning down at the girl in his arms. "Down." She nodded her head. She liked Bonnie and she could handle Johnny's presence but she didn't want him carrying her.

He stood her down carefully before sitting down next to the truck. He gave the girl an awkward glance before patting the ground next to him. "You gonna sit or not?" he asked.

Clementine looked over to Bonnie, Carver and Troy, debating whether to stick with Johnny or stick her nose in the other's business. She looked Johnny in the eyes from where he sat next to her, seeing no trace of happiness or fun, before taking a step away from him, towards Carver, Troy and Bonnie.

She was pulled back when a hand clasped her arm and gripped on tightly. She fell on her back side before she was pulled up under her arms and stood on front of Johnny, who then released her from his grip.

She frowned at him, before complaining. "Ow…" she whimpered, giving an annoyed, sad glare at the man kneeling on front of her.

"You can't go over there, kid. I just saved you're a- I just saved you from a beating." Johnny explained, brushing some leaves off the girls little pants. He shared a worried glance with Bonnie, who had watched what just happened, but the moment was quickly ended when Troy nudged Bonnie's arm causing her to jump in surprise and face the leader again.

Clementine's glare turned to a confused squint. "What's a 'beating'?" she asked. Ever since she had met these new people, she had been learning a lot of new words, phrases and sentences.

Johnny sat back on his feet and raised an eyebrow at the girl. "You don't know what beatings are? How old _are_ you!?" he asked. He didn't think she was any older than five, but he also didn't think she was any younger.

"Three!" she chirped, repeating her age for about the tenth time in the last two days.

Johnny's eye widened, but he quickly shook it off. "Okay. A beating is a slap, a punch, a kick, when someone hits you pretty much…" Johnny explained. He patted the ground next to him as he saw his words swimming around in the little girl's eyes; her mind processing what he had just said.

"Now, just sit here next to me, and behave! You don't want Bill getting angry…" he said, watching as the girl quickly sat next to him, a little too close for his liking, but he didn't complain since he had decided to take Bonnie's word this time.

_"We've got a little one now."_

They sure did.

* * *

><p>"Clementine." Hearing her name, the girl stood up from she had been sitting next to Johnny for the last ten or twenty minutes and approached Carver, wondering why he had called her over.<p>

She looked up at him with, an eerie silence lingering in the air around them. "You haven't met Troy yet." He said, putting his hand on the gun man's shoulder. Tory just glared down at her, which scared her more than when Johnny had done it a while before.

"It's good manners to say 'hello'." The leader said, clearly upset that his newest member had no manners.

"Hello…" Clementine said, looking up at Troy expecting a smile, but being greeted with an even meaner glare instead. Both of the men on front of little Clementine were making her grow more scared by the second. She really regretted leaving the cabin with Carver now.

"Bill! Walkers!" Bonnie shouted, as a gunshot filled the air. A few birds flew from the trees surrounding the trail that the small group and truck were stranded on as many moans and groans filled the ghostly silence that followed the single gunshot.

"Shit…" Troy groaned before running to the other side of the truck to help Bonnie keep the approaching walkers at bay. Carver gave Johnny a quick look, pointed at the small girl on front of him and followed after Troy. Johnny knew Carver wanted him to take care of the child.

"How many times do I have to say it? _I don't like children_!" he shouted agitatedly.

He ran to Clementine's side but froze when he saw the small gang of undead beings slowly limping towards him and the toddler. He looked down at the trembling girl who returned the gaze, silently begging him to get them away. Johnny didn't have a gun so killing the walkers was not an option.

With a troubled sigh, her lifted the girl up and ran into the trees. "Bonnie! Clear a path back!" he shouted behind him, causing the three heads of his fellow survivors to spin in his direction.

"On it!" she shouted, but that was unheard as Carver screamed Johnny's name angrily. "I'm going to bring him back." The leader said, sprinting after the toddler and her 'minder'.

Johnny wasn't running that fast; Clementine clinging to his shirt was not speeding him up either. "Calm down, kid. We're safe…" he tried to reassure the girl, but she just clung to him tighter. He stopped running and turned around to see if Carver had chased him. That man didn't trust him at all.

He opened his mouth to try once again to make the girl release his shirt, but stopped when he heard a gun click behind him. "Johnny?" a familiar voice asked, sounding shocked; almost as shocked as Johnny was to be hearing that person. One of the people he had been dragged out to find…

He slowly turned around to be faced with seven people he did not expect to be out in the open; vulnerable to Carver's wrath.

"That's our girl." Luke said, raising his gun at the man just as Nick had been doing since he saw their old acquaintance with Clementine.

Johnny looked down at Clementine, who turned her huge smile away from the cabin group and up to him. "Looks like this is goodbye, kid." He said, finally _smiling_ down at the child in his arms.

"You leaving?" she asked, her smile turning upside down. She had grown to like Johnny just as much as he had grown to like her; more actually.

He quickly pushed the girl into Carlos's arms and stepped back a few steps. "You better get, before Carver comes and-" Johnny was cut off by his name echoing through the trees. "Go!" he demanded, practically pleading with the group to leave.

They did has he commanded, turning on their heels and running as fast as they could. Clementine watched from over Carlos's shoulder as Carver and Troy came into view next to Johnny.

She couldn't tear her eyes away as Carver raised his fist and hit Johnny straight across the left side of his face, knocking him to the ground.

She gasped and tried to break out of Carlos's hold, but she was too small and weak and just ended up watching as the man that saved her disappeared into the distance; surrounded by the worst people on earth.

* * *

><p>Clementine had just witnessed a 'beating' on the very man that had explained to her not too long ago what a beating was.<p>

Her eyes were tightly closed as she sat in Carlos's arms, her head against his chest as she tried her best to ignore the small chatter of the others in the group.

Luke and Nick were arguing at the front of the group while Pete followed close behind. Alvin was helping Rebecca walk since her pregnancy was taking a lot out of the woman, and Sarah was sticking close to Carlos and Clementine at the back of the group.

Carlos occasionally rubbed small circles on the three year olds back as she hadn't spoken since they got her back from Johnny, and he knew she was upset or scared. "We're heading south." Nick stated, pointing to an area on the map that he thought they were located at.

"For the last time, we are here, and we're headed this way; which is NORTH!" Luke explained for the fifth time, pointing to the map he and Nick had a hold of. Luke knew Nick wasn't the best co-ordinator, but he didn't know his friend from twenty years was that bad!

"Would you two ever stop? You're worse than Clem or Sarah…" Alvin spoke up, amusement clear in his voice. Luke turned around and smirked at the man with the yellow coat while Nick continued to study the map.

Sarah joined Pete's side and Carlos joined Rebecca and Alvin. Rebecca gave Clementine a sorrowful look as the youngest group member finally opened her eyes. Her gaze fell right onto Rebecca's and she grabbed a handful of Carlos's shirt.

"I'm sorry…" the woman apologised, causing every head to turn her way and witness what was happening.

Clementine calmed down a little and searched in Rebecca's brown eyes for any hint of a lie. Finding no trace of deceit, Clementine simply nodded her head in forgiveness and relaxed back into Carlos's hold; releasing his shirt.

Since the group's attention was locked on the young girl and pregnant woman, Carlos decided to finally speak up. "I think we're far enough away from Carver to stop and take a break. I need to check Clementine for any injuries too…" he explained. He tried asking her a few times was she hurt but got no answer.

Pete watched as the toddlers eyes made their way to his. "I'll take her so you can check." He said, making his way over to the doctor, who willingly handed the girl over without any complaints.

Pete took a seat on the dirt riddled trail and sat little Clementine on his legs. Luke and Nick took a seat next to Pete, watched, listened and hoped everything was alright with the girl; that she had chosen to go mute because she was hungry or tired, not because she was hurt or scared.

Rebecca and Sarah also sat down, talking about how it was getting colder and what names to call the baby. "What if it's a girl?" Sarah asked.

"I was thinking maybe we could call her… Hope." Rebecca said, smiling softly to herself. She wanted the baby to be called Hope to symbolise new hope in the group. If it was a boy however, she wasn't sure what to call it.

"That's a beautiful name!" Sarah said in awe. It was good having the raven haired teenager around. She was always good for a smile and made you forget about the way the world was for a few minutes. It was refreshing.

Alvin was keeping an eye out for the enemy; Carver, his gang and walkers. They really had no allies in the world anymore except for each other.

"Squeeze my finger?" Carlos asked, holding his hand out to the girl with the D marked cap. She lifted her left hand and squeezed the doctor's index finger hard. "Good. How about your other hand?" he asked. She squeezed it again with her other hand.

She didn't understand why she had to do these weird exercises, but didn't ask. Ever since watching Johnny get hit, she couldn't bring herself to talk. She felt that her voice had been ripped away from her; like watching that man get hurt, had caused her some sort of invisible pain inside her, but she didn't know for sure.

Carlos took her right leg in his hand and bent it slowly and carefully. "No pain?" he asked.

She shook her head.

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong with your voice?" he asked. Clementine narrowed her gaze before shaking her head. Carlos backed down but was still concerned.

"Why ain't you speaking if there's nothing wrong?" Nick questioned from where he sat next to Pete and Clementine.

Luke nudged his friend before speaking, "Leave her alone. It's alright if you don't wanna talk, Clem. You've probably been through hell and back with Carver…" Clementine smiled at the brunette man while Carlos continued his examination. Of course, her saviour smiled back, not questioning her silence at all.

"Yeah Nick. Leave her be. Do you not remember that time you almost gut shot me and wouldn't speak for a we-"

"Uncle Pete!" Nick moaned, burying his head in his hands.

Luke chuckled at the memory that Pete always used to embarrass Nick whenever the moment came available. It worked like a charm every time.

"Well, it seems there's no injury. She's good to go." Carlos finished his check up and stood up off the ground.

Pete stood up but kept a hold of the girl. She saw Luke and Nick sloppily pulled themselves up off the ground, almost falling over each other. Clementine couldn't hold back the giggle.

"Seems someone's feeling a little better." Pete commented. He had been keeping a close eye on the kid while Carlos carried her. To him, she looked shaken, broken and confused, but now she seemed back to her normal self; happy and smiling. She still hadn't talked yet, and that worried the man, but he was willing to leave it a little longer before taking precautionary steps and getting her to use her words.

She smiled at him sweetly before, much to his surprise, wrapping her arms around his torso the best she could and whispering, "Story?"

She leaned back and looked up at him with sleepy eyes. "You tired?" he asked. It was the word 'story' that had caused so much havoc in the first place. Was it really such a good idea telling her one?

Clementine nodded her head; quickly scanning a few smiling faces around her that had heard her speak, before looking back up at Pete, awaiting him to start.

"Tell you what, you tell me what kind of story you want, and I'll tell you one. Deal?" he asked, shifting his hold on her so she sat more comfortably in his arms.

Clementine's eyebrows furrowed together in thought. She caught Nick's eye and an idea came to her. "How did Nick...'gut shot'…you?" she asked, her voice entering everyone's ears this time.

Pete laughed from his stomach and nodded at the child's request. "Well, it all started when I took Nick out hunting for the first time; he wasn't much older than eleven…" Pete began his story, while everyone else listened in.

They had all heard this story before, but the look on Nick's face every time the oldest man in the group told it, was worth another listen.

The group were entertained for now as they made their way to the mountains up North.

It was going to take them a few days, Luke knew that, but he'd break that news to the others later…

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><p><strong>AN - So I hope you all enjoyed my development of Johnny, and a little of Bonnie. Troy will maybe, probably, or not, be introduced in more detail in future chapters ;) So I'll try get all fics updated in the next few weeks; Stick around :) Also, still feeling like a Q and A is what we could do this chapter instead of vote (since no one asked anything last chapter...) AND - It's Christmas people! Have some _cheer_ not _hate! - _Don't forget to Review (maybe some bday wishes?) and I'll talk to y'all soon! Bye**

**~-Meg xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - Christmas holidays! Yessss :) Two weeks to update as much as I can until school gets in the way again... :/ So, I'm just going to reply to ALL the reviews from CHAPTER 3. (sorry to people who reviewed the other chapters; comment on this one, and I'll answer them in the next chapter too) I'm also going to answer the questions from Addie and Cam ;)  
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**leafs nation: Clem is just badass in general, no matter what age she is ;) And thanks for the 'happy birthday'. I had a great day.**

**fanfictionisahobby: I know what you mean. Telltale just love making us think characters would be great in upcoming episodes, but instead kill them off :(**

**ROPER: Your gonna have to wait and see what happens with Johnny, Bonnie, and that group... ;)**

**Guest: I'm glad you are enjoying this fic, and here is the next chapter for you! Kenny and Clem... well I think many people can see where that might go. Remember what Kenny was like with AJ (who couldn't really do much more than wiggle around and cry) ? Just imagine what three year old Clem's presence will do to him...**

**ClemmyClue102: Of course Clem is back with the group! :D Thanks for the birthday wishes too. It was fun :)**

**Addie and Cam:****I'll answer all your questions as best I can!  
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**1) I was inspired to write this fic after I read bloodymary's version of Clem as a baby. I loved her version but there was so much I would've changed about it (to suit my take on things) That's when I decided to take the challenge and start my own fic about three year old Clementine!  
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**2)I'm 15 :) I only turned fifteen on the 15th of December (six days ago, I think)  
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**3) I got that cover picture from a friend through Facebook. (he's addicted to TWD just like me and was spamming me with pics)  
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**4) A lot of things inspire me... Especially other writers criticism, tips, ideas, or just random things they say that comes up in an irrelevant conversation. I'm also inspired by my friend that gave me the cover art ;)  
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**5) My older brother inspired me to first start writing. He's an A+ English student and is always filling my head with his broad selection on vocabulary. He tells me to extend my vocabulary and do something constructive with it! So I joined this website and the first thing I wrote was 'A different Story', which now has a sequel :) **

**6) I don't really do much research, except when I'm at a loss for words or if I want more insight into something I'm writing about, e.g = A.R.D.S (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) which you can read about in chapter 17 of 'A Different Story'  
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**7) I'll read anything I can get my hands on; comics, novels, fan fiction, encyclopaedias... Right now, however, I am in love with J.R.R Tolkien - writer of Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit :3  
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**8) I love good comments; would love more though... ;) Bad reviews annoy me, but I don't mind them. It's those bad commenters that come back every chapter that annoys the heck out of me! If they don't like, why do they keep coming back!?  
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**9) I have a few other works planned, that I will get started as soon as I have the time! I'm sure many people are going to love them; especially everyone who enjoyed '_I'd Come Back For_ You' ;) * **A hint for anyone who has read that fic... :3

**10) I prefer to see where an idea takes me! The amount of time's I've abandoned complete chapters because of a last minute change to the plot.. It's honestly quite a pain sometimes, but the end product is always what I imagined it would be :)**

**DONE! :D Thanks everyone who reviewed, and I will shut up now so you can read the chapter! (longest authors note ever, right?) - Enjoy**

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><p>"Five more days?!" was Rebecca's reaction to Luke's 'bad news'. Now that their first day was over, she was dreading five more.<p>

No one else was really worried about the long walk ahead, except for Carlos, who had stated that his daughter and the newest member of their group wouldn't be able to walk that long.

Luke quickly brushed it off, explaining his plan to carry Clementine most of the way (which she immediately complained about) and taking short breaks when Sarah needed them. That shut the doctor right up.

Day one:

Luke took the lead, keeping his machete close at hand just in case they came upon some trouble. Carlos and Sarah walked behind him, Carlos making sure they didn't get lost and that Luke stayed on guard. Nick and Pete where next, quietly arguing about stupid little things that relatives always argued about, and Alvin, Rebecca and Clementine were at the back; Clementine standing in between the couple, holding Rebecca's hand for comfort.

"Well, if it's a boy, I say we call him Alvin; after his old man!" Alvin exclaimed, sticking his hands in his pockets and smiling ahead as he thought about their baby.

"Alright, alright! If it's a boy we can call him Alvin. So it's settled; a girl, Hope, or a boy, Alvin." Rebecca explained.

The two grownups looked down at Clementine before Alvin spoke. "What do you think, Clem?" he asked.

She looked up at him with a cute smile. "Yeah! They're nice names!" she beamed up at him. She had been fixing her sentences for the past two days, and was finally getting the hang of it.

She turned her head to the left to look up at Rebecca with raised eyebrows, awaiting some praise. "I'm glad you like them. I also see you're improving your speech. Well done, Clementine!" the pregnant woman applaud the girl.

She was proud of herself, little Clem, but she couldn't shake the feeling of hatred towards herself. She had hated many things before; water, fire, heights, cannibals, being lifted, the cold, but she had never hated herself. Ever since leaving Johnny to get beaten by Carver, she felt as though he was mad at her; and if he was upset her, she was upset herself. She had let him down, in her eyes, and she could never forgive herself for it.

"Can I go up there?" she asked, pointing with her right hand through the people ahead of her. Rebecca let her left hand go and nodded her head.

Clementine squeezed through Pete and Nick, only to be grabbed under the arms and lifted upside down by the old man. She squealed in surprise, grabbing her cap just before it fell from her head. Pete chuckled before spinning the three year old the right way round and holding her like a baby. "Where are you going?" he asked.

Nick smiled at the two of them but quickly turned away, trying to keep his cool status with everyone else.

"Nowhere!" she smiled up him. Pete narrowed his eyes at her, which cause her to giggle, before releasing a satisfied sigh.

"Alright." His gruff voice, calm and quiet. He turned to look at Nick, before a cunning smirk appeared on his face. "How about Nick carries you for a while?" he asked, receiving a glare from his nephew.

"No thanks." The young man mumbled. He didn't know how to handle kids; especially fussy kids who might cry or squirm in his arms. "Come on, son!" Pete insisted, already handing the girl to Nick.

He had no other choice, either take the girl or drop her.

It took him a minute to sit her in his arms properly. She looked up at him curiously. It was awkward, staring down into her amber eyes which didn't seem to blink. "Do you, uh, wanna walk?" he asked, pleading with his eyes for her to say yes. She nodded her head.

He was about to stand her down, but Carlos turned around and stopped him. "No! Carry her until we get out of the muddy part of the trail." The Spanish man said. Nick was so focused on the girl in his arms, that he didn't notice the mud sticking to his shoes.

With a defeated sigh, he held Clementine closer and locked eyes with her once again. "Shit… How about we face you the other way?" he muttered. He spun her around one hundred and eighty degrees so she was facing forward.

She sat on one of his arms while the other was wrapped around her stomach; kind of like the rollercoasters at them crappy carnivals him and Luke used to go to when they were younger.

She put both her hands on the arm around her stomach before catching the whole group's attention. "Vroom, vroom! Beep!" she giggled as she pretended she was driving the Nick car.

Luke was the first to start laughing; his snort activating the others laughs, until everyone was in fits of giggles, even Nick. "What are you doing?" Nick asked, holding onto her tighter so he wouldn't drop her as she wiggled around in his arms.

"I'm a driving!" she exclaimed.

"A driver?" Nick asked, correcting her sentence. He was surprised she even knew what a car and driver was, so mispronouncing it wasn't that odd from the three year old.

"I'm a driver?" she lolled her head back as far as it could go against Nick's chest to look up at him, awaiting an answer. "Yeah, Clem…" he sighed, stifling a laugh as the others quieted down.

They walked through the mud for about twenty minutes before it was safe to put the little one down. As soon as Nick bent down to stand her on her own two feet, however, she started whining. "No! I wanna stay!" she complained, holding onto his arms for dear life.

Nick didn't want to carry her anymore. His arms ached since he was also handling a gun as he kept a hold on the girl. "I'm tired, Clementine. I can't carry you anymore." He tried explaining to her, but she wouldn't have it.

"But, Nick…" she pouted up at him and locked her amber eyes back onto his dazzling blue ones.

Luke saw his friend struggling to keep the girl satisfied so approached them both and tried to help. "How about you come with me, Clem? You can hold my hand and help be the leader until Nick's not tired anymore." He asked. He made sure he had the girl's attention before giving her his best puppy dog eyes. She noticed it and smirked at the orange shirted man.

"I'll be leader?" she asked innocently. She enjoyed being up so high and being able to see everything in Nick's arms, but if she was going to the front to be boss with Luke, then she wasn't going to say no.

"Yeah, Clem. You're in charge…" Luke said, regretting his decision of words as soon as they left his mouth.

Clementine beamed up at him and released her grip on Nick so he could stand her down. She took Luke's hand and followed him to the front of the group.

Every time Luke slowed down to check the map, she pulled him ahead faster. When he turned to talk to Carlos, she demanded him to look forward and keep his eyes on the path.

"Bet you regret taking her now, don't you?" Nick whispered into Luke's ear after seeing him struggle keeping up with the girl.

Luke just sighed, and turned to look at the girl holding his left hand tightly.

"This is gonna be a long day…"

Day two: 

The group had stopped to eat something. The sun was setting up ahead but Luke was determined to keep walking until dark.

"Sarah, would you bring her over here?" Carlos asked his daughter who was trying to keep Clementine from wandering off by herself.

"Yeah, dad!" the raven haired teen shouted to her dad who was sitting by a small makeshift fire with Rebecca. Alvin was using the toilet, Pete was keeping watch, and Luke and Nick where chatting amongst themselves by the tree's near Sarah and Clementine.

"Clem, my dad need's us." Sarah tried to take the girl hand, but being the three year old she was, Clementine denied to be taken so easily. "Tag!" she shouted, pushing Sarah's leg and running off.

"Clem, wait!" Sarah said, catching up the younger girl quickly, but missing her chance to get a hold of her. Sarah turned to Carlos, and pointed to Clementine.

"Clementine." He warned. The toddler ignored him, but stopped running and turned to face Sarah. She stuck out her tongue, which made Sarah run towards her, before getting away again.

Alvin came back from his toilet break and stood between Nick and Luke, watching Sarah struggle to catch Clementine. "Do you think we should help out?" he asked, turning the two younger men's attention to the two girls running around the trail.

"How hard can it be?" Nick asked, shrugging his shoulder and leading Alvin away from the treeline.

Luke sighed, "It probably is gonna be way harder than we think…"

Alvin blocked the toddler's path, which caused her to smirk since she had a plan. Alvin was prepared to scoop her up into his arms, as she wasn't slowing down, but instead, he missed the girl as she crawled under his legs quickly.

"Get her dad!" Sarah yelled, watching as Clementine ran behind Carlos before he could even turn around.

The sound of the toddlers shoe dragging through the dirt heavier than usual, caused everyone to gasp and turn her direction. She had tripped, but instead of falling onto her stomach or face, was caught and stood back down.

"Be careful." Pete warned, smiling down at the girl. She smiled back up at him before dodging Nick's grasp from behind.

"What the hell?! You could've caught her!" he bellowed at his uncle, but Pete just shrugged his shoulder.

"I'd rather see you make a fool of yourself…" he smirked at his nephew's exhaustion from chasing after the hyper kid.

Nick gave up and sat down next to Rebecca. "Luke will get her, eventually…" he said, looking at Rebecca's amused smile. "She'll burn herself out soon and then she'll just walk into your arms. All children are like that." She explained.

Carlos nodded his head. "That's what Sarah was like. We used to let her play in the garden until she tired herself out. Then she would come in and beg us to put her to bed." He smiled at the memory.

Alvin was next to give up. He was panting after all the exercise of running around. "Damn… I hope our baby ain't as hyper as her." He murmured, wiping some sweat off his forehead.

"With Clem around, our baby will be twice as hyper!" Rebecca laughed. She was getting more and more excited about bringing a baby into the world. Before Clementine came along, she didn't think it was possible to raise a child in the apocalypse, but now, she was certain that she and Alvin's baby would be okay.

Sarah blocked Clementine path as Luke pounced at her from behind. Of course, he missed and tripped, landing on his stomach with a thud. He rolled onto his back and covered his eyes with his hands, out of breath from the impossible task he took on.

He felt a small weight make its self onto his stomach and two small hands lay against his chest. He uncovered his eyes to see Clementine sitting on him panting lightly from all the ninja skills she pulled off for the last half hour.

"I win…" she whispered, smiling down at the man under her.

He didn't hesitate to sit up and wrap his arms around her, pulling her close to his body. "You little…" he panted, squeezing her softly. She giggled into his chest as he stood up and brought her over to fire where everyone else had gathered.

"Finally…" Nick exclaimed, smirking at his dirt covered friend.

"Now, we can finally eat." Alvin rubbed his hands together as Carlos and Pete handed around small cans of beans they had found at the cabin. They were running out so they were going to have to use them wisely.

Luke shared with Clementine, who was hungry after her game of 'tag'. As Luke finished up the last of their beans, he noticed Clementine had fallen asleep on his lap. A small smile crept onto his face. "We all ready to move?" he asked, standing up with Clementine snuggled up in his arms.

"Is she asleep?" Rebecca and Sarah asked in unison. Luke nodded his head.

"I'll carry her 'till we stop for the rest of the night." He whispered as the toddler made herself comfier in his arms.

"Let's go."

Day 3:

"Nick!" the childish call made Nick curse under his breath. He stopped walking and turned around to face Rebecca and Clementine looking his way.

"Yeah?" he asked, already sensing it was something he wasn't going to like. Rebecca released the girls hand and she ran up to him, raising her hands in the air. "Up!" she demanded, using one hand to fix her cap over her curls.

"I don't think I can, Clem. I- My arms- You can- Are you tired?" he stuttered, trying his best to get out of babysitting the child. She pouted and let her arms fall to her side.

After that, she walked next to him but didn't speak a word. Every few minutes, Nick would look down to his right to see if she was still there, and every time, she was. It was strange; the silence that filled the air made him feel on edge.

He couldn't handle it anymore and cleared his throat. "Do you still want to be carried?" he asked, watching as a few ears perked up from the other cabin members, who had also grown concerned by the silence.

The girl just shook her head. She looked upset, angry, distracted; a general mixture of bad emotions. Nick thought it was his fault she wasn't talking, but it was something else that had kept her mouth closed.

At first, she had remained quiet from where she stood next to Nick, waiting for him to offer to carry her, feeling as happy as always. That changed when the silence gave her time to reflect on things that had happened in the past.

She remembered Lee saving her life a whole bunch of times. Like when the train stopped working and she followed him into the station outside of Savannah. That walker almost had her, but Lee killed it.

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><p><em>"That was close…" Lee panted, lifting Clementine into his arms. <em>

_"It almost eat me!" the girl cried in fear. Lee held her close and rocked her gently. _

_"It's alright, sweet pea. I'd never let anything happen to you." He assured her. _

_"Me too!" she nodded her head as best she could as she lay it against his chest. "The dark scary…" she mumbled, looking around the dark station warily._

_ Lee chuckled as he faced the door. "Yeah, Clem. It is. Let's get out into the light…" Clementine agreed with her guardian and they walked outside into the summer breeze._

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><p>She remembered Christa always being there for her, even when Omid had gone.<p>

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><p><em>"We'll be okay, Clementine. I promise!" Christa said, keeping a tight hold of her hand. <em>

_"The woman dead?" she asked, frowning up at her last friend. Well, her second last friend. Omid was just sleeping back in the rest stop. He'd catch up to them in a while, right? _

_"Yeah, sweetie. We gotta go find somewhere safe." Christa explained. _

_"Safe is good!" Clementine stated, nodding her head to the plan. _

_"And then maybe we can share another cookie… what do you think?" the woman asked, giving Clementine her best smile, although she felt terrible after what had just happened. _

_The toddler wiped a stray tear off her cheek that she must've missed a few minutes before; after that scary girl was shouting at her and Omid. "Yummy! Cookie!" she beamed up at Christa. _

_"Yummy…" Christa repeated, her voice faltering slightly. _

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><p>Clementine thought about her old friends, Duck especially. He was much older than her, almost by seven years. Nick reminded her of her goofy buddy. Duck would always give her piggy back rides and play games with her. He was almost as hyper as her!<p>

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><p><em>"Clem… psst!" Duck whispered loudly from where he hid around the corner. <em>

_Clementine turned to face him from her spot on the ground beside the chairs where Katjaa had been keeping an eye on her. Her small childish smile grew when Duck motioned for her to go to him. She stood up and approached him as fast as her two year old little legs could carry her. _

_"Wanna do a secret mission with me?" he asked, raising a sneaky eyebrow at the small girl. She nodded her head vigorously. _

_"Good! You need to get on my back…" he pulled the girl onto his back and held her gently under the legs. "…and we're going to attack Lilly!" he explained his plan._

_ Clementine giggled. "How we do that?" she asked. _

_Duck's smile got wider. "We're going to throw a rock at her!" he laughed quietly._

_ Clementine looked up to where Lilly was keeping watch on top of the R.V that Kenny was fixing up. _

_Duck carefully bent down and picked up two small rocks. He handed one to Clementine and kept the other for himself. "Ready?" he asked. _

_"Ready!" she whispered, preparing her rock in her hand. _

_Duck position himself and Clementine beside the R.V; behind Lilly. "Preparing shot!" Duck called loudly, catching a few others attention, but no Lilly's. "Shout 'fire', Clem…" he whispered over his shoulder to the girl on his back. _

_"Fire!" Clementine shouted. _

_Duck threw his rock as soon as the words left his friends mouth. It hit Lilly in the back. _

_Clementine threw hers next, just as Lilly turned around to see what hit her. The two year old had one hell of an arm on her, as her rock hit Lilly on the forehead. _

_Duck pulled her over his shoulder, standing her down as he laughed uncontrollably. "Good shot, Clem!" she praised her, putting his hand out to her. She gave him her best high five and giggled along with him as Lilly shouted some bad things down at them._

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><p>The three year old had lost all those people. Now she had these seven more, but would they leave her too? Like how Johnny left her… Like how Christa left her… Like how Lee left her…<p>

It wasn't fair.

She was upset thinking about all those things, but didn't feel like crying. She wanted to stay tough around her new group so they wouldn't leave her like everyone else.

This was a goal she was determined to reach.

With this new state of mind, she turned to Nick and pulled on his shirt. He looked down at her surprised as she lifted her arms up to him again.

A small smirk snuck onto her face. "Up!"

Day 4:

_"Clementine!" hearing her name being shouted so angrily caused her to turn her head in search of the caller. She saw Carver making his way through the darkness that wouldn't let her leave her spot. _

_"You left us! You left me! You left Johnny! How do you know I didn't kill him?!" he shouted at her, pointing his finger right into her little chest as he loomed over her like a rain cloud. _

_"I'm sorry…" she apologised even though she knew it wasn't going to do anything. _

_"I outha slap you…" he hissed, raising his right hand up and swinging I down to Clementine's face. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact, but it never hit her. _

_She opened her eyes slowly to be faced with the loneliness she had been sitting in a few moments before. "Sweet pea…" the next voice she heard had her looking around everywhere for the source. _

_"Lee!" she called, hoping he would appear. Sadly, he never came for her, he only shouted through the darkness. _

_"You're strong, Clementine. Don't let that man take you down! Me and you, we'll always be a team. Remember that! You have to stick with your new group sweet pea. They'll keep you safe, I promise…" his voice grew more and more distance as tears started streaming down the three year olds face. _

_"I don't like dark! Lee! Come back, please!" she begged, sobbing and hiccupping as she begged the man to come back for her. _

_"Don't cry, sweetie…" Clementine turned to her left to see Christa kneeling beside her. She continued to bawl her eyes out as she reached her arms to take hold of Christa. Christa backed away slightly, and looked down at Clementine disappointedly. _

_"I told you to stay put, Clementine." _

_ "I'm sorry, Chrisa! I go back!" Clementine tried to make Christa smile but it didn't work. _

_"I would have come back for you! I would've brought you with me! I miss you..." Christa went from being angry to being upset._

_ "I miss you…" Clementine repeated Christa's words. _

_Christa put her arms out to give the three year old a hug, which Clementine quickly leaned forward for, but the woman slowly disappeared and the toddler fell through the blackness beneath her. Her tears were the only other thing to keep her company besides the darkness she was falling into._

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><p>Clementine shot up in the sleeping bag she shared with Luke, gasping for air; practically drowning in her tears. Her sudden movements caused Luke to wake up in a panic, wondering what was happening.<p>

He noticed Clementine gasping for air and presumed the worse. He scrambled out of the sleeping bag and pulled Clementine out with him. Luke held one hand on her stomach and leaned her forward, patting her back gently so she could catch her breath.

It wasn't working as she continued to inhale sharply and tremble as many tears ran down her face. "Clem! Clementine! Shhh… Are you alright?!" he asked, trying to calm her down.

Her sobs where getting louder and Luke didn't want everyone waking up so early because of it. They would all be cranky for the last day of walking through the pines.

Luke walked through the trees away from the small make shift camp with the distraught child. He didn't know where he was going, just that he needed to cheer up the girl. He changed his hold on her, so her head was against his chest and he could hold her little, warm hand with the arm that she was sitting in.

He decided they had wandered far enough and sat down where he stood. "Aw, Clem, what's wrong? I hate seeing you like this…" he whispered into her ear. She squeezed his finger and continued to cry.

Luke thought about things that scared children half to death, literally. Monsters were one thing. Being in the dark without someone to keep them safe was another. But why would she be scared of those things while she was sleeping…?

It hit Luke like a ton of bricks. "Did you have a nightmare, Clementine?" he asked.

She nodded her head as best she could. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

Clementine considered his offer. She calmed down so her sobs weren't echoing through the trees anymore. "I…I was…" She couldn't get it out. No matter how hard she tried, her crying stopped her from telling Luke what was eating away at her.

"It's alright… Nightmares are not real, Clem. It's your mind playing a silly joke on you. Sometimes they feel real and make you sad, but they're still just dreams; none of it is real." He explained to her.

"So…Carvers not hit me?" she asked, finally getting part of her nightmare across to the man.

His eyes widened, as all his hate for Carver boiled to the surface. He had scared the girl in her dreams! Three year olds are supposed to dream about ice cream and rainbows not a mad man hitting them.

"I'll never let him touch you ever again, Clem." Luke stated, staring through the trees, into the darkness, as his anger slowly died down. Clementine calmed down even more now that Luke had assured her Carver was not coming for her; right then anyway.

"So…so Chrisa's not mad?" she asked, lifting her puffy eyes up to look at Luke's face.

"No, Clem. I bet Christa is very proud of you! Just like how I'm proud of you, and everyone else in the group!" he exclaimed, smiling down at her while she managed a smile up at him too.

"You're _proud_ of me?" she asked, holding his hand tighter.

He chuckled quietly before resting his hand on top of the toddlers head. "Yeah, Clem. I'm proud of you! You are so brave, and sweet, and you got Nick to laugh! Heck, even I couldn't get him to crack a smile! I'm so glad that I met you, Clementine." He told her, holding her closer to his body for heat.

There was a comfortable silence after Luke's words as the two cuddled in the darkness of the woods.

"I'm proud of you too, Luke…" a quiet whisper reached Luke's ears. Not only did Clementine construct that sentence all by herself, but she meant every word of it. Luke could see her eyes shining up at him from where she leaned against his chest.

"Are you ready to head back to camp?" he asked, preparing to stand up. Clementine stopped him from sanding by turning around and kneeling on his knees. He was surprised when she wrapped her small arms around his neck.

"We're a team, right Luke?" she asked, burying her head into his neck.

He was taken aback by her sudden clinginess but couldn't deny that they were, in fact, the most badass team in the apocalypse.

"Right, Clem. We're a team." He whispered, standing up and letting the girl lay her head on his shoulder. "No more silly nightmares, okay?" he asked, rubbing small circles on the girls back as they made their way back to camp.

"Okay…" she said sleepily.

"Night, Clementine."

"Night night…"

Day 5:

"…so that's why I can't carry you today." Nick had just told Clementine a really long story about how he hadn't worked out in a while and that he could drop her if he picked her up.

His excuse was so bad, not only did every cabin member know he was lying, but so did the toddler.

She left his side and took Pete's hand. "I'm cold…" she complained, shivering because of the northern winds they were getting closer to.

Pete looked down at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Clem, but I don't have anything to keep you warm." He told the girl. She pouted at the ground as she let the air freeze her face.

"Do we have much further to go? Bec needs a break." Alvin asked, wrapping his arm around Rebecca's shoulder.

Luke looked up from the map her was holding and turned around to face everyone. "We're almost there." He smiled at the others, relieved sighs and quiet murmurs of 'thank god'.

"What are we gonna do when we get there?" Rebecca asked, being the first to think ahead.

Luke put the map up in the air, over his head. "There's a ski lodge on the map. We'll just head there!" he exclaimed, smiling triumphantly since he had already thought it through.

"Dad, I need a drink…" Sarah whispered, catching her father's attention. He pulled his bag off his back and pulled out a bottle of water. "Does anyone else want a drink?" he asked.

"Me!" Clementine exclaimed, raising her hands in the air so she would be noticed.

Carlos handed Pete a bottle of water and the old man picked Clementine up into his arms. "Drink it slowly, okay? We don't want you choking again." He said, raising an eyebrow at her as he placed the bottle in her little hands.

She slowly took a drink to prevent another accident like the one the day before; she chugged the water down to fast.

The youngest girl was still on edge after the nightmare from the night before, and Luke could tell, but she was able to calm down every time the brunette man gave her a reassuring smile.

She handed the bottle back to Pete and smiled at him, satisfied after being hydrated. "Done." She chirped, looking up ahead to see a large boulder come into view on front of them.

They walked out of the tree's, where the trail expanded and then became part of the ground under the boulder. Luke stuck the map in his pocket and turned to face Nick with a pair of binoculars in his hand. "Would you climb on up there and tell us what you see?" he asked.

Nick's eyes widened, but before he could speak, Clementine beat him to it.

"I can!" she stated, ignoring the concerned looks from the others and concentrating on Luke's smirk.

"It's alright, Clem. Nick's got this one." He said, shoving the binoculars into his friends hand and motioning for him to climb up the rock. Nick sighed in defeat and carefully made his way on top of the boulder.

"What do you see?" Luke called up to him, pulling the map back out and holding it on front of him as everyone else stood around and stared up at Nick, who looked around through the binoculars.

"There's the bridge…"

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><p><strong>AN - Can I just say, WOW! Almost 6,000 words?! You guys should be happy I'm really in a festive mood this week ;) So fic 1/3 updated... Don't forget to review and I'll try have a vote for the next chapter, but for this one, we'll have another Q and A :D See y'all soon! (and in case next update takes a while, Merry Christmas!)**

**~-Meg xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - Sorry about lack of updates, really! I have Mock exams coming up in three weeks :O And I'm behind on study, so I hope you understand... Like I promised, I'll answer all reviews from last chapter :)**

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><p><strong> Reviews ^-^<strong>

**(santiagoponcini20) :****I'm going to change the scene at dinner in the ski lodge a little bit since Clem's only three, and doesn't really have as broad of a choice since she's so young. You'll have to wait and see what happens... ;)**

**(fanfictionisahobby) : It was a great game of tag, wasn't it? Hah. Thank you :P**

**(Addie) : I am quite a failure at spelling, if I'm honest, but thanks for two thumbs up! I decided building character relationships was something a lot of writer leave out, and that it would be something interesting to write, AND read of course. Again, you're going to have to wait for and see what happened with Kenny and Clem... ;)****Guest (you should make an account, bro :P): Here's the next chapter for you! :D A lot is going to change since Clem's only three so you can look forward to that. In this chapter you get to see the bridge scene, so I'll just leave it at that... ;)**

**(Clover123) : Thank you SO MUCH! It really boosts my confidence being told that I'm actually writing a decent story :3 But you should look a little harder into the archives of TWDG fics. There are MANY amazing works out there ;)**

**(Cam) : I am also ill at the minute :( It sucks having a chest cold, head cold, and blocked nose while preparing for exams, AND still recovering after Christmas :/ Luke and Clem moments are my specialty, my friend :P It was fun answering your previous questions, and don't worry, I wont spoil LOTR for you ;)**

**(silver7612): THANK YOU! :P**

**That was a lot of reviews (for me anyway) Thanks everyone for taking the time to read and comment, and without further delay - Enjoy :)**

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><p>"So I'm thinking, I'll go check out the bridge Nick was talking about." Luke said to the rest of the group, while Nick climbed down off the rock her had been laying on top of a few moments before.<p>

Clementine got Pete to stand her down as she pushed past Sarah to stand in between Carlos and Luke. "Someone should go with you." The Spanish man said, thinking about safety in twos and what not.

"Okay. Pete…?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow at the man who was just about to take a seat next to Rebecca and Alvin. He looked exhausted. "I was actually going to rest for a minute. Carrying Clem's turning out to be more of a task than I first expected…" Pete explained, avoiding using the phrase 'getting to old'.

Luke nodded his head and turned to Alvin, but before he could ask, Nick stepped forward with a slightly annoyed look on his face. "I'll go." He said, receiving a nod from Carlos, who put his arm around his daughters shoulder.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "I thought you hated having to do stuff for the good of the group?" he asked, amused by the scowl Nick was giving him. It was true though, Nick did hate doing things that made him seem like he cared. He decided getting away from the group with his best friend was an alright task to sign up for.

"Well alright, me and Nick will go across, low and slow, make sure it's safe, and then signal for the rest of you to come across." Luke told the others his plan before turning his back on them to start making his way to the bridge with Nick.

Clementine took a few big steps forward behind them both, causing Carlos to call her name, turning Luke and Nick's attention back to the group. The girl also turned around to look at the man who told her off. "Where are you going?" he asked, crossing his arms like the father he was.

She turned to look at Luke and Nick and pointed at them before meeting Carlos's gaze again. "To the bridge!" she chirped, earning a small chuckle from both Pete and Alvin.

Luke stepped closer to the girl and put his hand on her head. "We'll take her with us, it's alright." He said, ignoring the sigh from Nick behind him and worried glare from Rebecca.

"She should stay here. She's just a little girl, Luke…" Carlos said, clearly trying not to sound too harsh about the little girl.

"She's a valuable little girl!" Luke corrected the man.

There was a short silence in which a whole course of emotions flashed across Carlos's face. "I said no!" Carlos snapped. He didn't mean to. He was only looking out for the little girl.

"Maybe she _should_ stay here…" Nick broke the more awkward silence after Carlos's outburst.

Clementine turned to look at him with the saddest eyes. "But…" she stuttered, turning to look at Luke. "We're a team, Luke…" she pouted up at him, silently begging to get to adventure with the two men.

With a small smile, Luke pulled her up onto his left arm and nodded at the rest of the group. "I'll keep her safe, don't worry. We're a team, we must stick together." The brunette man explained, amused by the weird looks the rest of the group gave him.

Rebecca stood up and rested her hands on her stomach. "Explain later. Go and check if it's safe to cross the bridge!" she said, getting the two out of trouble for now.

Although she was worried about the girl, she had heard crying the night before and saw Luke carrying the child away from the camp in the darkness. She also saw him return with Clementine, except she was no longer crying, but was sound asleep in his arms.

She would get a proper explanation of out Luke later, but for now, she just wanted to keep moving and get somewhere safe.

"Can we go too?" Sarah asked, taking a seat next to Pete on a log. Carlos sighed before sitting with the rest of the group. "We're keeping watch, Sarah." He told his daughter. She nodded her head and started a small conversation with Alvin and Rebecca, while Pete and Carlos kept an eye on the bridge.

Clementine bounced around on Luke's hip as they quickly made their way towards the bridge.

"So you two are a team?" Nick smirked at the duo next to him, preparing for some story that Luke would make up to get him off their case. Instead, Luke and Clementine exchanged a smile, before the orange shirted man turned to Nick and nodded his head. "Yep!" he said, no joke or lie in his words.

Nick raised an eyebrow. "When did that happen?" he asked, fixing his rifle in his hands. Luke just stared ahead, a small smirk plastered on his face.

Clementine looked up at him, waiting for him to answer. When he didn't, she grew curious. "Luke?" she asked, pulling his attention down to her.

"Yeah, kiddo?" he asked, lifting her higher up on his hip.

"Nick asked something." She said, pointing to Nick who mirrored Luke's earlier smirk.

"Yeah, Luke. _Nick asked something_." He said, clearly thinking he had won this round. He kept the smirk on his face as Luke fought the urge to hiss something 'not nice' under his breath at the little girl's innocence. Luke eventually pulled himself back together and decided he might as well just tell his friend that him and Clementine bonded the night before, and were now a team.

He opened his mouth, but before any words could come out, Clementine beat him to it. "Look!" she gasped, grabbing some of his shirt in her hand. These were the moments Luke adored having the girl on his team.

Up ahead were two walkers; one sitting against a rock, and one standing, blocking any access to the bridge from their side. The three survivors hid behind a rock closer to them and made up a plan.

"What are we gonna do? We can't use guns; too loud. We could probably go around, but that'd take more time…" Luke was spitting ideas, until Nick spoke up. "Let's take 'em." He said, a smirk on his dirty face.

Luke returned the dumb look to his friend and pulled his machete over his shoulder. "I like your style…" he whispered, sitting the weapon on the ground.

He smiled down at Clementine before lifting her onto his shoulder. "Hold on tight; don't let go no matter what, and be quiet, okay?" he whispered. Clementine's little legs dangled down as far as Luke's arm pits since she was so small, and her hands gently grasped the sides of his head. "Okay…" she said.

Luke and Nick stood up and slowly started making their way towards the two walkers. "You get shorty…" Nick whispered, pulling a hammer out of his pants.

Luke would've complained if he hadn't of had the three year old on his shoulders. It made sense that he took care of the easier target so he could keep the little girl safe.

As soon as the walkers were dealt with, Nick turned to Luke and put out his hand. Luke slapped his friends hand hard; their 'bro' moment cut short when Clementine put her hand out to Nick.

He couldn't hide the smile as he gave her hand a light tap.

Luke raised his hand up to his shoulder and, with a small giggle, the girl slapped his hand as hard as she could. "Ouch!" Luke hissed, waving his hand to get the sting away, "You hit harder than Nick!"

A gust of wind suddenly hit them, and Clementine shivered on Luke's shoulders. "Are you cold, Clem?" he asked, concerned she would get a cold or something. She nodded her head, which Nick had to point out to Luke since the brunette couldn't see her as they walked onto the red bridge.

"We'll have to find you something warmer to wear." He said quietly, noticing a few walkers appearing up ahead. Clementine gripped his hair tighter in her hands, causing him to wince slightly and lift his hand up to her. "It's okay." He assured her.

Nick stepped forward to take care of the approaching walkers that had come out from under a train cart that was abandoned in the middle of the tracks. While he was bludgeoning them with his hammer, Luke stood back with Clementine and watched.

The three year old heard something behind her; she still searched for the source of _every_ noise she heard. It had become a habit since she spent a lot of times in the wilderness with Christa and Omid, when she had to be on her toes all the time.

Turning her head to look the opposite direction, she gasped in fear and pulled Luke's hair again; purposely this time. She treated him like her own personal horse, pulling at his rope to turn him around.

Luke responded with a pained moan and his body turned around as his head was pulled back, almost instinctively, so his back was now to Nick. He saw more walkers making their way towards them, and quickly shushed Clementine while making his way towards them.

"It's okay Clem. We can take 'em them easily! Just gotta stay ca-" the sound of wood cracking below him, cut him off.

When he felt his legs fall through the hole where one of the wooden beams broke, his first instinct was to grab a hold of the girl on his shoulders. The splintery wood that remained part of the bridge cur his face as he fell through.

He had pulled the three year old over his shoulder so she was on his torso.

Luke felt something hit his back and grabbed hold of it, but lost his grip on Clementine. His legs also wrapped around a beam identical to the one he was grasping while the three year old slid off his stomach and began to fall, head first, to the water below.

Her terrified cry was heard by Nick, who turned around in search of his two allies, before running to the edge of the newly formed hole. He looked down and saw Luke holding onto a beam for dear life with one hand while he kept a hold of Clementine's leg with the other.

The girl was holding her hat on her head so it didn't fall off while crying in fear.

"Are you okay?" Nick called down to them.

Luke began pulling Clementine back up. Once she was dangling over his stomach once again, he quickly released her leg and grasped her jacket, spinning her around so her head was on his chest, and holding her close. "We're okay… Watch out behind you!" the older male shouted, while trying to calm Clementine down.

Nick turned around to be faced with a handful of undead coming his way. "Shit…" he hissed, looking around for his rifle or hammer. His eyes landed on something more useful instead.

Luke had dropped his machete and it was now laying a little way away from Nick. All he had to do was get past that one female walker, and he would have a weapon. He was quick to send a punch to its stomach, knocking it backwards slightly, but doing nothing more.

He backed up as the walker got closer and almost walked off the edge. An idea came to his mind, and he began luring the monster towards him. As soon as the walker was about to pounce him, he jumped to the left and clasped his hand around one of the steel poles keeping the bridge up.

The zombie fell off the bridge into the blue waters below. With that problem dealt with, Nick sprinted to the machete across from him on the other side of the bridge. Once he had the blade in hand, he began slicing through the other threats.

He grunted as he stabbed the last walker through the mouth before dropping the machete and panting aloud after his hard work. Luke screaming in fear brought Nick's attention back to the hole in the middle of the rickety bridge.

He looked back down to see Luke kicking a walker as best he could without falling, while the undead being attempted to reach the man and little girl. It wasn't doing so well since it was impaled on a broken part of the beam further down the bridge, but it was still causing a problem for Luke and Clementine.

"Here!" Nick shouted, putting the machete down into the hole.

Luke gave him a confused glare before holding the whimpering child closer to him and furrowing his eyebrows together. "My hands are a little full!" he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the blue eyed idiot.

Nick took measures into his own hands and swung the blade as best he could, getting a clear hit on the walkers head. The beast stopped moving and both men calmed down.

Nick retrieved a pole from the beginning of the bridge that he had seen earlier and handed it down to his friend. Luke placed it across the beam his arms were around and the beam his legs were on, stood up, handed Clementine up to Nick, and climbed back onto the bridge.

Nick held Clementine under the arms, straight out on front of him since he had no idea what to do with the distraught child.

With Luke's feet firmly planted back on the bridge, he doubled over, hands on his knees, while he recovered from the incident. A small scar dented his usually perfect face, which made Nick smirk slightly.

"Thanks, man…" Luke exhaled the word quietly before straightening up and looking further down the bridge.

"Don't mention it. Take her…" Nick said, handing the girl over and sticking his hands in his trouser pockets, acting all cool like usual. He had a reputation to keep, he wasn't planning on letting Clementine ruin his one unique feature left.

Luke gave Clementine's head a small kiss dramatically while she continued to cry softly into his chest. "Thought I lost you for a second there, Clem; almost lost my team!" he said, trying to cheer her up. It was a failed attempt as the girl continued to weep into his shirt.

She couldn't swim, and was scared of heights. Being faced with an almost drowning situation and a falling incident almost made her die of a heart attack, not because of what happened. She could still feel her heart pounding in her chest as she sat in Luke's arms while he mumbled something into her cap.

"I don't like up high…" she finally revealed, allowing Luke to wipe away some of her tears while Nick reloaded his rifle and scouted ahead. "Me neither, Clem. I'm sorry that happened. We'll have to be more careful next time, yeah?" he said softly, rocking her where they stood.

He felt like a father who forgot to feed his kid or something. One of those feeling like he let the little girl down enormously by falling and taking her down with him. All he could do to make it better was apologise and whisper sweet nothings to her so she would calm down and forget the whole ordeal.

Clementine nodded her head, agreeing with the man's decision to be more careful. Even though she was only three, she knew they could never be _too_ careful.

There moment was cut short when a loud gunshot caused them both to jump in surprise, making Clementine grab some of Luke's shirt in her hands.

Luke ran towards Nick, who had his rifle aimed to the other side of the bridge. "What happened?" he asked, looking for the walker, or whatever Nick had shot at.

The red capped man turned to Luke and Clementine with wide eyes. "It…it was a guy! He drew at me, so I shot at him!" he explained, lowering his rifle with shaky hands.

Luke and Clementine both looked for the guy's corpse again, but didn't see it anywhere. "Where'd he go?" Clementine asked, rubbing her runny nose with her sleeve.

"He fell over…" Nick's quiet response caused Luke's eyes to widen like his where a few seconds before. "Well, who was it?!" Luke asked, not liking the idea the Nick might have hot an innocent man.

After receiving a useless shrug, Luke sighed and turned his head to see the rest of the group coming across the bridge to them. "Let's just get off this death trap…" he said, shaking his head at nothing in particular.

Nick waited until Luke started walking ahead before following.

His gaze lifted from the old wooden boards beneath his feet to lock eyes with Clementine's still teary ones. They both just stared at each other for a moment before a small smile found its way onto the little girls face. She seemed to be trying to find common ground while they both felt miserable.

Nick couldn't stop thinking about what he had just done, and didn't smile back. Instead he scowled as he recalled the recent events, while his eyes remained glued to hers.

That's when he noticed the sweet smile fall and get replaced with a familiar, upset frown. Just like that time after they got her back off Johnny; away from Carver.

A frown, almost like he had just ripped part of her heart out and crushed it beneath his boot.

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><p><strong>AN - I really have nothing more to say :P It's a first, am I right?! Don't forget to review and I can maybe make every beginning A/N reply's to all your sweet comments ;) Seeya next chapter, baiii**

**~-Meg xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - Back with a new chapter! I'm very slowly making progress with this chapter, chapter six being this one here :P, it is worth the week wait for each chapter, right? Anyway, I'll be replying to Reviews at the start of every chapter from now on, so let's start:**

**santiagoponcini20: I love that you are enjoying, and reviewing every chapter! Thank you so much :)**

**leafs nation: That would be a great fic... The Walking Circus! :P aha! The only flaw in their act was there was no net to catch 'em if they fell ;)**

**upside-down Neopolitan Dreams: Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Your love for the fic makes it worth writing :)**

**fanfictionisahobby: It was really close, like, REALLY close :/ You guys should be happy I didn't just let Clem fall and die... a re-use of events from 'Diving Into The Unknown" :P Nick was the side-lines guy; the one who catches you before you fall, the one who knows he's no good for anyone, but decides he'll still try his best, even if that means screwing up. Thank God he didn't screw up (except for maybe shooting Matthew) and get Luke and Clem killed :)**

**Cam: You and Addie are making regular reappearances in the comments of this fic; I like that! You two are like my biggest fans, I think... ;) Nick is an idiot, but I think you'll change your attitude about him after reading this chapter :) I'll just tell you now, the Clem and Kenny reunion is not 'till next chapter, sorry. I hope it doesn't get your hopes down of this chapter being _amazing_, 'cos trust me, it still is :P If you go back to chapter one, in that authors note (I think) there is an explanation of Clem's age, and the time span in which has passed in this AU fic. Clem was two with Lee, becoming three while also with Lee, and is still three now. It has only been nearly a year since she's been separated from Lee, and I know it's confusing, but that's just how it is :P And keep your gibberish to a limit, sheesh ;) **

**That's 'em all, folks :) Thank you all so much, and also thank you every silent reader out there who doesn't leave their thoughts in the reviews. (as much as I would love to hear ANYTHING you have to say) Enough chit-chat, let's get onto the story! - Enjoy**

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><p>"Who…was that…back there?" Rebecca asked, panting after the walk her and the rest of the group took to come and help out. Everyone was off the bridge now, standing next to an old station house. Alvin stood next to his wife, allowing her to lean against him for support. Pete also helped. They was worried about her.<p>

"We don't know. He fell over…" Luke explained, standing Clementine down on her own two feet. She looked down at her hands, still recovering from the scare. She was glad Luke had caught her, but she couldn't stop shaking from the shock.

Carlos looked down at the girl and noticed her puffy red eyes. He kneeled down and motioned for her to come over while the others talked. She slowly walked towards him until she was right in front of him, staring him in the eye curiously.

"What's the matter?" he asked quietly. He knew she was young, and could've been crying because she needed a nap, but he just wanted to make sure.

She zoned out for a minute as the events replayed in her mind. Her hanging upside down over a river with Luke's hand around her fragile leg; the only thing keeping her safe, would haunt her for a long time.

Carlos saw the fear register on her face and put his hand on her shoulder, bringing her back to earth. Clementine wasn't his daughter, but he was prepared to treat her like she was if it saved her innocence; just like he did for Sarah.

Little did he know, ever since Clementine had joined them on their journeys, she had seen more than she had her whole time with Lee or Christa. They had always kept her protectively by their side, only leaving her with Duck or Carly when they had to take care of the monsters.

They treated her like a grown up, but also maintained the notion that she was a two year old little girl. For her third birthday, Lee had given her some candy which she savoured for days. He cuddled her when she was upset, but he made sure she understood the plans the group came up with.

Christa taught her how to survive without using violence. It was all Clementine could ask for from the woman who had lost so much in such a short time.

The three year wished she could go back and tell them she loved them, or thank them for everything, but, even being as innocent as she was, she knew they were gone and never coming back.

Her gaze left Carlos's eyes and looked down a fraction. She slowly lifted her hand to her face, and for the first time since Lee left, she pushed her thumb into her mouth; doing one thing that brought her a small amount of comfort before.

Carlos raised an eyebrow at her, while Rebecca also noticed her silence and new habit.

The doctor looked up at Luke and Nick, who were arguing about the man on the bridge still. "Luke?" he asked, pulling everyone's attention to him. "Can I talk to you, please? In private…" Luke nodded and he and Carlos left everyone else to talk next to the bridge.

"I'm going over to them." Pete said, approaching Carlos and Luke, and getting caught up on the private chat.

Nick rubbed his face with his left hand before walking off by himself and taking a seat on a small bench next to the door of the small building. Sarah hesitated, stealing a glance at Nick, before joining Rebecca and Alvin who had taken a seat on a log just to the left of the house.

Clementine remained where she stood, sucking her thumb as she calmed her nerves quietly. Her head started to hurt slightly and she shut her eyes tightly while she let it pass. When she opened her eyes again, she looked over at Nick, who looked almost as confused as she was about everything.

Her gaze moved to the left so she was looking over at Rebecca, Alvin and Sarah all laughing and chatting quietly about something nice probably. They always seemed to find time for a normal conversation; or at least as normal as you can get in the apocalypse.

Clementine then twisted her head back to see Luke and Carlos having a pretty heated argument, about Nick most probably. Pete was shaking his head, likely trying to stand up for his nephew.

Thinking of Nick, Clementine looked back in his direction to see him with his head in his hands. Deciding he must have felt bad about what happened on the bridge, she took small steps towards him, hoping he'd look up and speak to her before she got over to him. He remained bent over with his elbows on his knees instead.

When she reached the bench, her feet must have made some kind of noise in the dirt, because Nick flinched slightly before lifting his head and looking down at the girl confused. He was expecting Pete or Luke to come over and shout at him, not the toddler.

She pulled her thumb out of her mouth, wiped it on her pants and them raised her arms for him to pick her up. His eyes darted over to the others before landing back on the tiny girl before him.

He picked her up under that arms gently and sat her on his lap, her leg's hanging to the side facing the log half the group were sitting on while she leaned back into Nick's arm. She felt better finally finding a friend Nick.

They both sat in silence, enjoying each other's company for the first time since they met. Nick wasn't tense while minding the child because he could sense she was having a rough time; just like him. Maybe they were more alike than it first seemed.

His hand laid on her legs while he stared across the plot to Luke and Carlos. "They're probably talking 'bout me right now…" he whispered, making the youngest member look up at him curiously She could see his stubble of a beard and black nose hairs more than she could see his face; that was until he looked down at her.

"How come?" she asked, blinking at him, confused by why he thought that. She thought it too, but she still wanted to know why. Her hand slowly crept its way to her pocket.

Nick sighed, "'Cos I shot that guy… Carlos can get enraged sometimes, 'specially when I screw up - 'Luke, he's becoming a danger to the group.'" His impression on Carlos's accent made Clementine giggle, which in turn put a smile on Nick's face.

The three year old sat up straighter when her hand rubbed off something in her pocket. Nick looked down at her, with a hint of worry on his features. Clementine ignored this as she pulled the crumbly biscuit out of her pocket.

She must have put it in the pocket when she was with Christa and forgot to eat it. She looked down at it hungrily, but decided sharing it would be best. With a bit of hard work, she managed to break it in half (more like in quarter) and gave one half to Nick.

"I'll share!" she beamed up at him as she grabbed his hand and placed the piece of cookie on his dirty palm. With a quiet chuckle, the first she had heard him give, he stuck some sweet pastry in his mouth and started munching on it. "Thank you, Clem."

After checking the time on the watch Pete gave him, Nick stood up, lifting Clementine up with him, and made his way over to the survivors at the log. He carefully stood Clementine down and placed his hand on her head before looking up at Rebecca. "I'm going to talk to them," he turned his attention to Luke, Pete and Carlos, then returned his gaze to the soon to be mother, "Can you keep an eye on Clem?"

Sarah gave her best smile to the three year old before taking her hand and sitting her down next to her. Rebecca nodded her head, and looked down to Sarah and Clementine sitting on the ground whispering quietly. "We'll watch her."

Nick left to face the men near the bridge.

Alvin stood up from where he sat next to Rebecca and pulled his hands out of the pockets in his yellow jacket. "I'm going to search the shack for food, water, or anything else. I'll be back in a minute." He explained, smiling at his wife and taking a step closer to the small hut.

"Can I help?" Alvin looked down at the girl who requested to help, and smiled proudly. "Sure, Clem, come on." He said, putting his hand out for the baby to take. Sarah said goodbye to Clementine, and the younger girl returned the farewell with a wave and a smile before taking Alvin's hand and heading into the small house.

When entering the building, Clementine looked around at the small bed in the corner, the radio on the crate next to it, and the small fireplace that lacked any warmth or cosiness.

"This way, Clem." Alvin said, kneeling down on front of a chest under the window to the right. Clementine walked to his side and looked at the chest curiously.

She wondered if there was candy inside, or would it just be another one of those monsters waiting to jump out of somewhere unexpected and scare her. "Do we open it?" she asked, waiting for Alvin's consent to pry the top up.

He didn't speak, only began trying to open it himself. It didn't budge. "I don't see no key around. That guy must've had it…" he muttered, more to himself than the little girl next to him.

Clementine left him to try using his own tactic; brute force, and walked to the bottom of the fold out bed. She looked up and saw something hanging down far enough for her to reach on the wooden counter on the wall to the left of Alvin.

She stood on her tip toes and pulled, at what she now identified as some paper, causing something to fall from the surface and land with a thud on front of her. It was lucky that it missed her when it fell.

She bent down and picked the long, leather case thing off the floor; using all her strength to keep it close to her chest, and turned to Alvin. "Alvin?" she asked, pulling the man's attention away from the chest.

He raised his eyebrows at the girl holding the mysterious object. "Can this help?" she asked, stepping closer to him and letting him take it from her tiny arms. It was heavy, whatever it was.

Once he had a hold of it, he pulled one end of it and a dagger came out of its sheath. He smirked at the blade before smiling at Clementine. "Yeah, Clem, this _can_ help! Well done!" he praised her for her job well done and pushed the knife under the lid and began wiggling it around.

A loud pop noise reached both of their ears as the chest finally opened. Alvin pushed it back so it was opened the whole way and looked inside. He pulled out a can of peaches and shook his head. "Poor guy…" he said, thinking of the man Nick killed, "You know, Fuck Nick!"

Clementine flinched at his word, which the older man noticed. "Something the matter?" he asked, not even realising the little girl heard him curse.

"That was a swear…" she said, crossing her arms, almost as if she was scolding the much bigger man.

Alvin couldn't help but chuckle quietly. "Sorry, Clem." He apologised for his actions and picked another can out of the chest. Clementine extended her arms, awaiting him to give her the can, which he did without any hesitation.

"We're gonna have to share, okay?" he said, making it clear to the toddler that food was important for everyone, not just him and her. She nodded her head, already being aware of the blatant facts.

Christa and Omid had spent a lot of time teaching her things that three year olds usually would know about. The only thing she really struggled on was speaking, but she was getting the hang of it now since she had so many people to communicate with.

The door suddenly opened and Pete poked his head inside. "Some walkers are heading out way. We gotta get moving up the mountain." He informed the black man and three year old curly haired girl.

Both men let Clementine out first before following behind her. "Shall I carry you, little lady?" Pete asked, bending down to be closer to being face to face with, who he considered, his granddaughter.

"I'm gonna walk." She said, a determined gleam in her amber eyes. Pete nodded his head as his eyes wandered to the can in her hands. "Do you want me to mind that for you? Just in case it slows you down climbing up this hill…"

Clementine decided that it would be a good idea to hand over the peaches, but needed to make sure Pete didn't eat them until they got to safety. "We have to share, Pete. So, don't eat them all!" she said, giggling at the faked hurt expression on his face.

He chuckled softly after wards and took her hat off to ruffle her hair. She grabbed it back off him and sat it back on her head while smirking up at him childishly.

"Let's get going!" Luke exclaimed, leading everyone else to the top of the mountain.

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><p>As they got higher up the slope, Luke lagged behind while he surveyed the area, making sure there was no danger following them.<p>

Pete and Nick were at the front, with Sarah and Carlos following close behind. Rebecca and Alvin were behind them, leaving Clementine alone a few meters behind, since Luke told them he'd keep an eye on her.

The three year old was growing tired, her legs were aching, her breathes coming out in cloudy puffs since it was getting colder the higher they got. She was getting slower and slower, Luke was catching up to her even though he was deliberately taking his time.

Clementine's legs finally gave out and she fell onto her hands and knees. She huffed frustrate and looked at the dirty palm of her right hand from the grassy ground beneath her. Just before she was about to cry, she felt someone wrap their hand around her waist and lift her up.

She looked up at Luke who gave her a concerned frown. "Are you okay?" he asked, rubbing her hand with his. He sat her in the hand with the map, so he now had nothing to look at besides her.

She pouted up at him, not answering his question. "Someone's cranky. Did you have a nap today, Clem?" Luke asked, picking up his pace since they were lagging pretty far behind.

Clementine shook her head, realising this was the first time she didn't take a nap in her whole life. Maybe that was why she had a headache earlier. She didn't know, but she didn't like it.

"I think you need one." Luke whispered, changing his position on Clementine so she was being cradled in his arms. She wiggled around, moaning sadly while she tried to sit back up. "No! I don't wanna…" she complained, fighting against Luke so he would leave her alone.

Luke wasn't sure what to do with the rebellious baby so he sat her back in his arms like she had been when he picked her up, and shut his mouth. Clementine remained frowning in his arms as she overcame the urge to cry.

They were the last two to reach the top, and joined the others who were quietly whispering about what to do. They had followed the ski lift all the way to a ski lodge situated on top of the mountain.

Luke handed Clementine to Sarah when they climbed onto the deck. "What's wrong, Clem?" Sarah asked, holding the younger girl close to her chest.

"I falled…" the girl said, holding her grazed hands out to Sarah. Sarah inspected the small gashes and gave Clementine a reassuring smile. "My dad can fix that! Do you wanna go to him?"

Clementine considered Sarah's offer before nodding her head and allowing the raven haired teen to bring her to her father. "Dad?" Sarah pulled Carlos's attention away from the boarded up windows of the lodge. "What is it, Sarah?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder and giving Clementine a small nod.

"Clem fell and I thought, since you're a doctor, you can clean her hands." Sarah explained, handing the toddler over to the man before he could respond.

Carlos stood her down and kneeled in front of her. He took her two hands in his and carefully rubbed most of the dirt off, some of the damaged skin too. Then he stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small box of plasters **(A/N - In Ireland we call them plasters, but I think others call them band-aids)** He quickly opened the box, pulled out of the bandages, and placed one across each of the young girl's palms.

"Tomorrow, you can take these off and your hands will be much better." He explained, smiling down at the three year old while she thanked him with a smile of her own.

Clementine turned around and looked at Nick, who had his arms crossed while he stood at the bottom of a ladder just next to the deck. She followed his gaze and saw Luke at the top of the ladder, pulling himself onto a watch tower.

She left Carlos and Sarah to talk and slid under the wooden railing that surrounded the entire deck and made her way to Nick's side. She pulled on his shirt to gain his attention.

He looked down at her and grinned before turning his attention back to Luke. "Bet you wanna go up there." He said, making the girl nod her head enthusiastically even though he wasn't looking.

"I think I see some lights!" Luke shouted down to them. Nick looked down at Clementine confused, which she returned with a shrug. "Well, what kind of-" Nick was cut off by someone shouting back up on the deck. He spun around and looked back up onto the wooden surface to see everyone gathered around yelling.

"Nick?" Luke called, waiting for Nick to finish what he was saying.

"Come down!" Nick shouted. He didn't wait for a response; instead he picked Clementine up and ran to the scene unfolding outside the lodge.

Pete had his gun aimed at three new people; two men, and a woman. "Are you trying to rob us?" the woman asked, her Indian accent making Clementine listen intently for something else that might come out of her mouth.

"Do I look like a fucking thief to you?" Rebecca hissed, shielding her stomach with both hands. "Just put the gun down…" Alvin said, raising his hands in surrender. He didn't want anything to happen to anyone on the group, especially to his wife.

"Fuck that!"

That voice.

Clementine remembered it as clear as day.

Nick pushed through everyone to get to the front and when he was finally there, he eyed the three people suspiciously. "Who are you?" he asked, shielding Clementine with his shoulder just in case they tried anything.

The woman and bald man looked to the other man, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, they both followed his gaze to Clementine, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

Any feeling of crankiness or tiredness was quickly thrown to the side when she locked eyes with her former friend. His beard had grown significantly since the last time she saw him, but she could recognise his eyes anywhere.

"Kenny!" she chirped, reaching her arms out towards him, wanting to hug the bulky man.

"Cl…Clementine?!" he gasped, blinking just in case he only imagined the little girl he had done so much to try and save was right on front of him. He never knew what became of Lee or Clementine, but now, he had some idea.

Nick stepped forward and handed the girl over, ignoring the worried glances from everyone else in the group. He knew he didn't want to risk the man shooting anyone, and decided that since Clementine knew Kenny, things would be okay.

Clementine beamed up at Kenny while she squeezed him tightly. "I missed you…" she admitted, noting the caring glow in his eyes. "Aw, thanks darlin'. I missed you too." He said, giving her a light squeeze to back up his sentence.

Luke finally pushed his way to the front and gave Kenny a confused glare.

"Are these people with you?" Kenny asked, waiting for Clementine to face him again. She was looking at her new group, inspecting all their faces carefully. They were like her new family, Kenny was her old, and now they could all come together as one.

"They're my_ team_, Kenny!" she exclaimed, smirking at Luke before facing the bearded man again.

That answer seemed to suit Kenny as he smiled kindly at them and motioned them inside.

"I'll be putting diner on soon. I hope you're all hungry." The other man said as everyone started walking down the deck, towards the main doors.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Next chapters gonna be a good one ;) Kenny and Clem untie once more, whoo! Please don't forget to review, and I'll answer them all again in the next chapter (should be up next weekend) Have a great Sunday, and seeya laterz :P Baiii**

**~-Meg xxx**


	7. Important Update READ

**A/N - Sorry if y'all were expecting another chapter (I'm afraid I'm not that talented at writing and It's gonna take me the week :P) I just needed to upload something important...**

**I've decided to mix things up a bit, and instead of having votes at the end of chapters, I'm going to put them all here (most of them anyway) I will probably upload another chapter at a later time as the story progresses, but until then, here's what everyone needs to start reviewing about:**

**1) Which characters should die?  
>{Specific Name}<br>{Anyone}  
>{No One}<br>**

**2) Should the group still travel towards Wellington, or should they create a new plan?  
>{Travel to Wellington}<br>{Consider Mexico}  
>{Listen to Mike's thoughts about Texas}<br>{Somewhere completely different}**

**3) Will Clem have her fourth birthday in this story?  
>{Clemmeh Bday!}<br>{Ignore Birthday}**

**4) Will I end this fic (don't worry, that wont be for a while) in a way that a sequal would be possible?  
>{Sequel ending}<br>{Ending ending}**

***IMOPTANT CHOICE*  
>5) Will Clementine stick with Luke and his group, or will she succumb to Carver and his followers?<br>{Join Carver}  
>{Stay with <strong>**_TEAM_****}**

**Okay so, like I said, this isn't ****_all_**** of them, just some that we can get out of the way now, and give people time to get voting. These wont be part of the story for a while, so PLEASE choose carefully, and wisely (we don't want another 'Diving Into The Unknown' scenario on our hands) ;) Seeya at the weekend, Baii**

**~-Meg xxx *Fixed any mistakes and tidied up choices :3***


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N - I'm back with the next chapter for y'all! I'm glad people are voting; it's good to know I've got a lot of readers interested in how this fic will turn out :) So, firstly, I'm sick. I've lost my voice and have a painful cough :( Hopefully that will be gone in a few days... Another thing is, OVER 9,000 WORDS?! Longest chapter I've ever written, and there is a reason for that (besides being sick and having loads of spare time for once) which I will explain at the end :P Now onto Reviews:**

**Rebloxic: THANK YOU SO FRIKIN' MUCH! ;)**

**killjarkidranger: Baby Clem IS the cutest thing you have ever seen, not _probably_ :P Thanks for reading!**

**CutsWithKnives: I'm so glad you are enjoying this fic! I feel I have really connected with my inner three year old while writing this, so I'd hope it's okay (I mean no one's told me otherwise...)**

**fanfictionisahobby: It took me so long to think of a way of making Clem and Nick get along, so instead of making it something really dramatic and over the top, I settled for a simple quiet moment in each others company :) I know what it's like needing to calm down and how sucking you thumb helps since I used to be one of those children... Also naps during the apocalypse just sounds like a must, you know?**

**Kiwipunch99: Please don't die! I think I'll have to turn the adorableness levels down a little... :P Also, Did you happen to get anything for my throat while you raided that hospital?**

**Also for chapter 7 (the votes) thanks to killjarkidranger (again), Guest (why do quests not just make an account?), Guest (seriously, I'm gonna have to come up with names for yous!), A Writer With Mixed Interests, leafs nation, XboxRainbowDash, Rebloxic (again), santiagoponcini20, Clover123, compa16, fanfictionisahobby (again), Lily, Bellz645546, SSV WARSAW, Lovelylittlekitt, StoryGlory7D and Cam :3 All your votes so far have been taken into account, but I'll make reference to chapter 7 in every chapter from now on as to remind new readers to go back and vote! **

**Enough waffle (god damn, I love that word) - Enjoy :) (and there wont be much of Pete in this chapter, just so you know)**

* * *

><p>Clementine's eyes widened when she was brought inside the ski lodge by Kenny and was greeted with Christmas lights everywhere and a huge Christmas tree near the stairs to the right.<p>

She remained seated in Kenny's arms, while he walked up the five stairs on front of the main door. "Leave you're weapon by the door, Kenny. We have guests." The red sweater man said, pointing to a small bench back at the bottom of the stairs.

"How do you know we can trust them, Walt?" Kenny asked, hostility clear in his voice. The young girl looked up at him with the saddest eyes possible. "They…They're my friends…" she stuttered, feeling the tiredness hit her like a ton of bricks.

Kenny sighed and stood the girl down. "Okay, okay. I'm putting my gun down." he said, walking back down the stairs. He bent down and sat his rifle under the bench before straightening back up again. When he reached the top of the steps where Clem and the other man were, the main doors opened again.

The rest of the group came inside and gawked at the decoration around the lodge. "Y'all can leave your weapons on this bench." Kenny said, pointing to the bench next to them. Nick shook his head, "I think I'll hold onto mine, thanks."

Walter insisted they put their arms down since they were guests, and after Luke stepping forward to unsheathe his machete and sit it on the wood bench, the rest of the group placed their weapons down too.

"Follow me and I'll show you to your rooms." The woman said, motioning for everyone to follow. The group followed the woman, but Luke stayed where he was at the bottom of the steps, eyeing the weapons cautiously. He didn't trust this new group just as much as Kenny distrusted his.

"That's Sarita, Clem. She's real nice. And that other man is Walter." Kenny explained, kneeling down to her level. She nodded her head, taking this new information in. Something felt different about Kenny. Clementine sensed some tension as she examined his face.

Another hand suddenly landed on her shoulder and she looked straight up to see Luke looking down over her. "Time for that nap, Clem." He said, a small smirk plastered on his face. She was about to argue, but a huge yawn stopped her. Luke took this as a good opportunity to pick her up.

Kenny stopped him from making his way to the couch. "I'll take her. It's okay." He said, placing a firm hand on Luke's chest. Both men stared into each others eyes emotionlessly. When Luke tried to take another step forward, he found himself being pushed back by the hand on his chest.

Luke looked at the bearded man confused for a second, before taking a step back. "Eh, Kenny, right? Well, Kenny, I've got her. She needs a nap, so if you don't mind…" he tried to walk around the green coated man, but found himself being denied access _again_.

"Look, kid, she's my responsibility now, so hand her over and _Get. Out_." Kenny's rage filled eyes frightened Luke a little, but he stood his ground. As he opened his mouth to fight back, the girl in his arms stopped him.

"Don't fight…" Clementine complaining reached both their ears and they looked down at her. She frowned up at them both with disappointment in her eyes. She expected them to all get along. She couldn't have been more wrong.

"Sorry, sweetheart…" Kenny said in a quiet voice, watching her lay her head against Luke's shoulder. "We'll go over to the couch now, Clem, and get some rest." Luke told her, finally walking past Kenny and sitting on the huge couch next to the fireplace.

Clementine looked up at him with expectant eyes while he looked at her with a confused smile. "I'm not napping 'till you do." she stated, rather bossily. Luke chuckled lightly before leaning his head back against the chair. "Okay, I'm going for a nap. Night Clem." He said, closing his eyes and pretending to go to sleep.

When she didn't respond he opened his eyes and looked down to see her squinting up at him. "Go to sleep." She said, smirking up at him. "You go to sleep, missy!" he laughed louder this time.

Clementine buried her head in his chest and breathed in his scent. "Night, Luke." She whispered, gently taking a small amount of his shirt in her hands. "Night, Clem. Sweet dreams." A few minutes later, Luke heard the soft snores of the girl in his care.

Her body heat combined with the heat of the fireplace was making Luke nice and warm after the long, cold walk to get to the lodge. He found himself slowly drifting off the sleep in the quiet of the room and glimmer of the decorations around him. Someone sitting down next to him woke him back up again a few minutes later.

He looked to his right to see the Indian woman from earlier smiling warmly at him. "Hello. I don't think we've been acquainted yet; I didn't see you upstairs…" she said quietly, making sure not to wake the girl in Luke's arms.

He rubbed his eyes with the hand that wasn't holding Clementine to wake up properly. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Clem needed some rest so I just stayed down here… Name's Luke." He extended his hand to her, waiting for her to shake.

She took a firm grip of his palm and shook his hand sincerely. "I'm Sarita."

She looked down at Clementine with an excited smile, which Luke took note of. "The last time I saw a child as young as her was way before all this happened. When Kenny recognised her, I thought this must be his child, the one I've heard little things about…" Luke's eyes widened at the thought of Kenny being Clementine's father. He didn't want to lose her, not now after all they'd been through. "…but Kenny had a son, not a daughter."

Luke sighed, relieved that Clementine could still stick with him in the long shot. He decided to ask Sarita more about her and Kenny, since the way she talked about him sounded as though they were close. "Are you not Kenny's wife then?" he asked, being extra quiet since Clementine began shifting in his lap.

Sarita shook her head. "He lost his wife and child. I'm his girlfriend; I think that's what you young men call it, I've been with him for a while now and we've grown quite fond of each other." She explained, whispering quieter and quieter as Clementine's little face crumpled up uncomfortably.

Luke noticed her moving around on his lap and looked down at her. He put his hand on her head, shushing her quietly as she moaned childishly. Her eyes peeled open, looking at Sarita confused, before finding Luke's loving smile. "That was a short nap, don't you think?" he asked, inspecting her fragile face carefully.

She looked pained, but not in a serious way. "Is something wrong?" he asked, helping her sit up properly. She nodded her head while looking at Sarita again. Luke chuckled at the girl's curiosity before moving some hair off her face and clearing his throat. "What's wrong?" he asked, feeling her hands lean against his stomach.

She looked at him again, the tiredness clear in her eyes. "I'm hungry…" she pouted up at him as her stomach growled loud enough for both people on the couch to hear. Luke wrapped his arm around her small frame and pulled her closer to him so she was lying against his chest again.

"I'm sure dinner will be ready soon…" Luke said, looking at Sarita to back him up. She nodded her head and smiled down at Clementine. "Walter should almost be done cooking it. Do you want me to check?" she asked, noticing the girls eyes light up slightly.

"Check in the kitchen, or…in the food?" Clementine asked, pushing against Luke again so she could look at Sarita properly. Sarita laughed at the girl enthusiasm about food.

"Both! Do you want to come with me?" she asked, standing up from where she sat and looking down at Luke and Clementine.

The three year old looked at Luke with a new wave of energy flooding through her system. "Can I go?" she placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned in closed, their noses gently touching, "_Please_?"

Luke smiled at her childish antics while he stared straight into her amber eyes that could light up the whole room. "Yes, Clem. You can go." He said, earning a quiet cheer from his girl. She spun around on his knees and slid off, landing with a quiet thud.

Clementine extended her hand to take Sarita's, but looked over her shoulder once more to Luke. "Be good for Sarita." He said, realising the girl didn't even know the woman's name. With a quick nod, Clementine and Sarita left the sofa area, and made their way into the kitchen.

Luke leaned back in the chair and enjoyed the quiet again.

Clementine was led into the kitchen area by Sarita. They were greeted by Kenny and Walter. "Hey, darlin'. Where'd….uh…your friend go?" Kenny asked, smiling down at the girl just like he used to back at the motor inn.

"Sleeping, shhh…" she whispered, pushing her finger against her lips. The three grown up's laughed at Clementine's silly behaviour while she smirked behind her hand. She turned to Sarita and pointed to the pot on front of Walter. "Food!" she said, practically jumping up and down on the spot.

Sarita lifted her under the arms and stood her on the counter. Walter continued to mix the food in the huge metal pot over the small flame. Kenny turned to Sarita and they engaged in a quiet chat.

"So, how are you Clementine?" Walter asked, pulling the girls gaze away from the mushy food he was stirring. "I'm great!" she chirped, putting everything Rebecca had been teaching her into practice. She had to remember her manners and ask him how he was. "How are you, Walter?" she grinned at him while he beamed back at her, impressed by her elegance.

"I'm great, too. What age are you, Clementine?" he asked, sitting the spoon in the pot and letting it lean against the edge while he rubbed his hands on his pants. Clementine lifted up three fingers, but quickly put them back down and locked eyes with Walter, hoping he didn't notice. Rebecca had told her to use her words, not her hands. "Three." She said, noticing his eyes widen slightly.

"Three?! I would've thought older than that. You're very mature for your age." He complimented her, and although she wasn't sure what she was saying, she smiled at him thankfully. She would ask Rebecca later.

"Did you not hear what that turd said to me?" Kenny's voice was raised which pulled both Clementine and Walter's attention towards them. Sarita sighed, and gave Kenny an unimpressed frown. "I heard you saying things too, Kenny…" she pointed out.

Kenny shook his head before replying, "This is _our_ home! I wasn't gonna let some smart-ass, little shit boss me around!" Sarita put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down, looking at Walter nervously while she did so. The bald man gave one last small smile to Clementine before walking around the counter and standing with his back to her and the food.

Clementine only heard snippets of what was being said since the grownups were purposely talking quietly. "…don't trust them…Clem can stay…leave…" The little girl turned her attention back to the bubbling food. She was so hungry, Walter wouldn't mind if she took a tiny nibble, would he?

She carefully leaned closer to the pot, preparing to stick her finger into the mush while her legs got closer to the flame to keep her balanced. None of the adults were watching her. Her finger had just passed the rim of the pot as she slid her foot a little closer to keep her from falling in.

Just before she could scoop some of the steamy food onto her little finger, she heard footsteps enter the kitchen and someone gasp in horror. Clementine pulled her finger back out and turned her head to the left to see who had come in. As the girl turned to see who had entered the scene, she pushed her foot forward a little more while she leaned back, and her trousers connected with the flame.

There was a loud 'whoosh' noise and she looked down to see the orange flame climbing her leg. She stumbled backwards, almost falling off the counter as Walter, Sarita and Kenny all spun around to see what was happening. As quick as the flame caught her, it was extinguished by Carlos's hand, since he ran towards her and helped her out.

He didn't give the three lodge owners a chance to explain, just walked away with the girl held out on front of him and made his way up the stairs. At the top, Rebecca and Alvin were sitting on a bed right next to the stairs.

Clementine kept shaking her leg, even though Carlos asked her to keep it still, because it felt all tingly from her heel to her knee. She whimpered quietly as her leg stun when it brushed against her other one.

Once the doctor had sat her on Alvin's knee and pulled up her scorched pant leg, she understood why. Her skin was all red, and a few burns were noticeable around the bottom of her leg. A blister had started forming already, and Clementine couldn't keep her eyes off it.

Rebecca was sitting on the fold out bed; just like the one at the small cabin at the bottom of the mountain, beside her husband, trying to distract the little girl. "Clem, look at me." She said calmly, noticing the pained expression on the girls face as her hands went to push Carlos's hand away. The doctor took a hold of her wrist gently and held her small hand at bay.

Clementine didn't like the tingly warmth that had engulfed her leg, and tears sprang into her eyes. Her gaze was finally moved away from her leg when some footsteps were heard on the stairs. Nick walked up, looking curious and nervous at the same time.

"I…uh…heard something happened to Clem. Sarita's telling Luke downstairs, but I overheard when I was walking by…" he explained, inspecting Clementine's leg. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the doctor pouring water onto a cloth and dabbing some pretty nasty looking burns on her leg.

The girl looked up at him with her teary eyes, and then extended her arms. "Nick…" she croaked, clenching and unclenching her fingers, begging Nick to take her. He took a step closer to the edge of the bed before shaking his head. "Carlos is fixing ye, Clem. I'll take you downstairs when he's done." He said, finally being the grown up he was expected to be a while before.

Carlos turned to look at Nick. "Where's Sarah? I thought she was with you?" he asked, clearly upset since he thought Nick left his daughter.

"It's alright, Carlos. Pete has her in the back room looking at Christmas decorations. Kenny was there when I left…" he explained, trailing off as Clementine hissed in pain. One tear finally fell from her eyes, but Alvin was quick to think on the spot. "Hey, Clem, no laughing until Carlos is finished!" he exclaimed, bouncing her lightly on his knee, much to Carlos's dismay.

A small smirk appeared on her face, but the tears remained in her eyes. "I'm serious, don't you even laugh one 'lil bit!" he said, noticing her stifle a laugh. She let a small giggle escape from her mouth before leaning back against Alvin's stomach. "I laughed…" she said, purposely being cheeky like all little kids were.

This is what Alvin expected, however, which is why it was 'no laughing', not 'don't kick Carlos.' Maybe he wouldn't be such a bad father, after all...

Carlos stood up and looked to Rebecca with a frown. "We can't trust these people. They left Clem on the counter next to the stove! She could've died…" he muttered the last part quietly so only Nick and Rebecca heard. Rebecca stood up and turned to Nick. "Take her downstairs, and distract her 'till dinner. Please?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't make it harder than it had to be.

Nick almost complained, but got the hint that the woman didn't want some bullshit story and nodded his head. He picked Clementine up off Alvin's knee and made his way down the stairs, while the girl waved over his shoulder to the three survivors staying near the bed. "What happened to you, Clem?" he asked, just making conversation while they walked downstairs.

She looked at him with an adorable little smile before answering. "I was put my finger in dinner…" she whispered, making Nick smirk down at her. "Did Walter say you could?" he asked, already knowing the answer. She shook her head and giggled slightly.

Nick shook his head. "You should do as you're told, Clementine. If you hadn't been trying to eat the dinner, then I don't think you would have got hurt." Clementine's smile fell. She really hated being told off. She held Nick's gaze; he didn't look angry. She didn't understand. If he wasn't angry, why did he berate her?

"Nick?" she asked, frowning at him as they walked down the last step. Luke was walking towards them from the couch. "Yeah?"

"Am I in trouble?" she asked, her frown pulling further down. Nick shook his head, and stood Clementine down. Her leg still hurt a little, but she could handle it. "No, Clem." He said.

Luke stopped in front of them and bent down to her level. "Are you okay?" he asked, studying her face carefully. She beamed at him and nodded her head. She put her hand on his shoulder and raised her eyebrows at him. "Are _you_ okay…?" she asked, turning her head to glare at Nick who bust out laughing at her question.

Her attention was turned back to Luke when she felt his arms wrap around her and pull her close. "I'm fine, kiddo." He chuckled, finding her comment just as funny as Nick did.

Sarah's voice getting louder made Clementine push against Luke's chest and turned around to find her friend. Sarah and Sarita were walking towards the tree next to the stairs, Sarita carrying a box of decorations. "Go play." Luke said, placing his hand on the girls back and pushing her towards the two other girls.

Her legs started making their way towards them before she could reconsider the option. Sarah looked her way while talking to Sarita, doing a double take when she realised Clementine was coming towards them. "Wanna help, Clem?" the teen asked, pushing her glasses further up her nose.

Clementine looked in the box, deciding if this was the best idea. She knew she might drop one and smash it. Sarita seemed to be able to read her mind, "Don't worry if you drop some. They're just things; as long as we don't get hurt, it's okay." The three year old smiled at the two older women and nodded her head.

Sarah picked a red shiny bauble out of the box first, and hung it from one of the huge branches of the tree. The tall evergreen sapling was already bejewelled with colourful ornaments, but there was a clear amount of space still left empty and unappealing.

Sarita bent down next, sticking her hand into the box and attaining one of the decorations, but giving Clementine a sorrowful frown as she straightened back up. "We are awful sorry that you got hurt, sweetie. Kenny's was just on edge with the amount of new people here, and Walter and I got distracted…" she explained, standing on her tip toes to fill space on the tree.

Clementine picked up one of the trinkets and held it in both hands, still processing what Sarita had said. Kenny got angry back at the motor in too, and that sometimes scared her, but he was always kind and sweet around her and Duck.

She missed Duck; just thinking about him brought a frown to her face. She quickly shook it off and thought of the good things. Kenny was here, and he was fine! He was still the same old Kenny, by the sounds of things, and Clementine didn't blame Walter and Sarita for not paying attention. Lee often forgot about her when Kenny was upset too!

She smiled up at Sarita and began hanging her decoration on the tree. "It's okay. Nick told me if I didn't try put my finger in the dinner, then I wouldn't get hurt…" she said, standing back to admire her work. She didn't break the glass ball; that was a start, right?

Sarita looked towards the kitchen area where Nick was headed, and frowned at his back. "Is Nick a good man, Clementine?" Sarita asked. Sarah raised an eyebrow at this question and faced the older woman. "Why would you ask that?" she asked, becoming frightened by the situation.

Carlos, Alvin and Rebecca started making their way down the stairs. Clementine watched them come down and smiled at them when they noticed her, Sarah and Sarita by the tree.

"I…I don't mean it in a bad way! I just want to know, if he's mean, or is he nice?" Sarita rephrased her question and Sarah calmed down, waving at her father who walked over to the couch with Alvin and Rebecca.

The younger girl pointed over to the couch and pulled on Sarah's sleeve. "Nicks a good guy; he'd never- What's the matter, Clem?" she asked, giving Clementine all her attention. "Can I go? I…I want to…to ask Rebecca som'in." Sarah nodded her head, allowing the younger girl to leave. She enjoyed having someone younger than her around. It made her feel mature and important.

Clementine started walking over to the couch, ignoring Sarah and Sarita's boring conversation about Nick. Of course he was a good guy! Why would Sarita asked that…?

"Hey, Clem." Alvin greeted her first, offering her a smile just like always. She smiled back at him and started pulling herself up onto the couch in between Carlos and Rebecca. She struggled a bit, but Carlos let her stand on his hand and she managed okay after that.

Once she was comfortable between them both, she faced Rebecca and let her head fall to the side curiously. "Rebecca?" she asked, starting off slowly instead on bombarding the woman with her questions. "Yeah, Clem?"

"What's 'mature'?" the girl asked, waiting for whatever awesome answer Rebecca would give her this time. The last time she asked a question was when she wanted to know "why does the baby take so long?" Rebecca didn't turn as read as a tomato like Luke did when she asked him before. He had sent her to Rebecca and the answer she got amazed her.

* * *

><p><em>"Well, Clem, lift up your hand."<em> _Clementine did as Rebecca said and admired her little fingers, making a fist and then opening her hand out again. She turned her head to Rebecca, waiting for her to explain. _

_"You see your fingers?" Rebecca asked, pointing to each finger gently, allowing Clementine to watch happily. "_

_'s wrong with 'em?" the girl asked, feeling a little self-conscious as the moment. __Rebecca chuckled quietly and shook her head, "Nothing, Clem." _

_Clementine nodded her head and looked the woman in the eyes again, growing more curious by the second. "Your fingers weren't always there. They had to grow. That's why the baby takes so long to be ready. All its fingers have to grow, and its toes, its legs and arms, even its nose!"_

_ Clementine giggled at the thought of someone with no nose. _

_"If the baby's done growing, then what?" she asked, watching Rebecca supress a laugh. "I'll tell you that another time, Clem…" _

* * *

><p>Rebecca smirked down at the girl. "Why? Who told you, you were mature?" she asked.<p>

Clementine smiled up at her, "Walter."

Carlos smiled at Rebecca, realising that the youngest group member must have made a good first impression. "Well, it means your growing up, Clem!" Rebecca revealed.

Clementine's smile turned to a frown. That couldn't be right. "But…I'm still three!" she exclaimed, making everyone laugh. She pouted at their entertainment, since she found it kind of mean.

"But every day you're getting closer to four." Carlos said, making the toddler's eyes widen in realisation. "Oh yeah…" she mumbled looking at him with a smirk. She would be four soon, and then she would be really mature.

Alvin leaned forward to look past his wife and to the girl. "So how you holding up, Clem?" he asked.

"I'm still hungry…" she admitted, earning a chuckle from the three adults. "Dinner shouldn't be much long-"

"Dinner is served!" Walter calling everyone to eat proved Alvin's point. Sarah followed Sarita away from the Christmas tree, making their way to the picnic tables near the kitchen. Clementine jumped off the couch and ran after the two girls, Alvin, Rebecca and Carlos slowly followed.

Nick, Luke and Kenny were already at the tables; Luke and Nick at the one on the left, and Kenny on the one to the right. Sarah joined Luke and Nick, and Sarita joined Kenny. Luke noticed the rest of his group approaching and gave Clementine a wave, one she returned. She took a step towards him, before Kenny called her name.

"There's room over here, Clem!" he hollered in her direction. Luke's face became sad, or maybe that was jealousy, as Clementine wandered over to Kenny and allowed him to pull her up onto his lap. Walter started filling everyone's bowls with his mixture of peaches and beans that the three year old tried to eat earlier. When he was done, he sat across from Sarita, who was sitting next to Kenny.

"I realised we never got a chance to catch up, Clem. So…how have you been? Where'd…uh…where'd Lee go…?" Kenny was quick to spark a conversation; one Clementine didn't want to have, though…

She shook her head, indicating she didn't want to talk about that, and Kenny got the hint. "Shit…I'm sorry, darlin'. Hell. He was a hell of a guy. Anyway…" he picked up a spoonful of his food and handed it to the child, allowing her to clumsily shove it into her mouth.

"What's that kid's deal, what's his name, Luke? Yeah, what's his _problem_?" Kenny asked, sounding angry and distrusting towards her group.

"Kenny…" Sarita sighed, shaking her head as she placed her spoon into her bowl again. "There's no problem!" Clementine argued, glaring at Kenny from where she sat on his knee. Kenny's face became soft again as he looked down at her. "Okay, Clem, I'll take your word." He said, saying he trusted her, even though his eyes told her another thing.

Walter was quick to finish, as was Sarita, and they got up to leave, allowing Nick and Luke to take their places; Luke sitting next to Clementine and Kenny, and Nick sitting across from him.

"Heya." Kenny greeted nonchalantly.

"Hey." Luke acknowledged the other man, but his attention was mainly on Clementine. "You finally get something to eat, Clem?" he asked, doubting Kenny's care for her. She nodded her head. "Good." He said emotionlessly.

Clementine had never seen him like this before. One thing started to become clear to her. Kenny seemed to be the leader of his small group, and Luke was the leader of theirs. Maybe that's why they didn't get along. It saddened her to see two of her most favourite people acting so mean and vulgar. At least Nick hadn't said anything stupid yet…

"So, what's your plan here? Gonna stay here and hold out for the winter?" Luke asked, gaining access to Kenny's 'marvellous' plan. Kenny shook his head, handing the girl another spoon of food. "Nah, we're thinking about heading north. Ever heard of a place called Wellington?" he asked, rolling his eyes at the confused glares from the two young men.

"Wellington?" Nick asked, confused by why this tiny group actually had a plan in the first place. "Supposed to be a big settlement up near Michigan…"

"Michigan?" Nick gasped, wondering how in the hell they were going to get there! It was miles away, it'd probably take a week _driving, _how long would it take to walk?!

"Yeah, Michigan! You got a hearing problem, kid? Think about it, fresh water, lots of land, and cold ass winters so the walkers get slow!" Kenny explained, growing impatient with Nick's constant questions. Luke seemed to take this plan into mind and nodded his head slightly as he thought about it more.

Nick on the other hand, wasn't so keen on heading north. "Sounds like bullshit…" he mumbled. Kenny's eyebrows furrowed together and he scowled at Nick across the table. Clementine was about to speak, but the bearded man beat her to it. "Listen, Vanilla Ice, I don't know what your deal is, but you're more than welcome to take off in the mornin'." He hissed, scaring the child on his lap.

Luke noticed her uneasiness and that, mixed with his doubtfulness of Kenny, caused him to put his arms out, offering the girl his comfort. She wiggled around in Kenny's lap, causing him to let go of her, and dived into Luke's arms. Kenny looked at her, sadness in his eyes, but it quickly turned back to anger when Nick started speaking again.

"That'd be fine by me." He stated, glaring at Kenny like he was the devil. If only looks could kill…

Luke held onto Clementine protectively while she frowned at the two men. "What's the deal with these guys, Clem?!" Kenny's question made Clementine jump in shock. "Hey, fuck you buddy."

Luke finally decided to speak up. "It's fine Nick, we ain't staying…" he said calmly, seeming to defuse Nick, but not Kenny. "She's staying!" he exclaimed, looking at Clementine momentarily before glaring back at Nick. "What?!" Luke gasped, tightening his grip on the girl.

Clementine had enough and lifted her hands up to her ears, attempting to block out the arguing. All three men looked at her sorrowfully, until Walter came over to help out. "Gentlemen, gentlemen, there no need to fight! You're upsetting Clementine! Kenny, why don't you come with me to check the back windows before this storm hits?" he asked, forcing Kenny to get up and follow him.

Once the older men were gone, Luke and Nick sighed in relief. "For a second there, I thought I was gonna need to put him in his place." Nick said, curling his hand into a fist. "He probably would've knocked you into next week!" Luke exclaimed, laughing at Nick's frown. They both knew he was right.

Clementine remained pouting in Luke's arms, reflecting on what just happened. Was she staying with Kenny or Luke? Did she even have a chance, or, since she was only a kid, would she have to do what she was told?

Luke stood up, lifting the girl up with him. She didn't complain about wanting to walk, because, just like with Lee, she felt safe in Luke's embrace. It was getting dark outside, the sun that had been shining through the windows was now completely gone behind some dark clouds in the sky.

Nick joined the rest of the group at the other table again while Luke went to sit back down on the couch with the girl. "Do you feel better after eating, Clem?" he asked, letting her lay against his chest to relax. S

he nodded her head. "Where's the sun gone?" she asked, watching Luke turn his head to look out one of the huge glass windows that made up the building. "Walter said a storms coming…" he whispered, noticing the clouds growing larger and darker.

Clementine leaned back and looked up at him with her bright eyes. "I don't like storms…" she admitted, shaking her head at the thought of loud rain, thunder, or even lightening.

Luke smiled sadly at the girl, realising that even though she was pretty brave, strong willed, and 'mature' for her age, she was still only three and was more innocent than Sarah; although storms did scare the teen too. "Don't worry, Clem. I'll keep you safe! I'll stay with you and protect you 'till the end." he told her, offering her the best comfort he could give.

Clementine nodded her head and looked around the room again. She examined the tree; that looked much more beautiful in the dark, the huge fire that lit up the room along with the lights of the tree, the books on the small table next to the couch, and then the map on the table on front of her and Luke.

"Luke?" she whispered, lifting her head back up to face the man. He looked down at her waiting for her to continue. "Are we staying here?" she asked, noticing a pained looked come across Luke's face.

After releasing a quiet sigh, he explained, "Kenny wants you to stay, Clem. But if you do, the rest of us will have to leave without you… Carver is still after us, and it's not safe to stay in one place for too long! Do you understand?" Clementine looked at him sadly.

They would leave without her? She was so happy that Kenny was back, but she didn't want him to take her away from her new friends. Her gaze fell from Luke's eyes and landed on his orange shirt.

"I don't want to leave you, Clem, but if that's what you want then I'll do it. I'll do whatever makes you happy…" he whispered, the grief he was feeling clear in his voice.

The three year old lifted her head once more and smiled up at the man. She wrapped her arms around his torso and leaned against his stomach, squeezing him in a hug. "I'm happy, with you!" she chirped, giggling as Luke wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even closer to himself.

They sat like that for a minute until Nick ran to their side. He looked worried and panicked as he held something behind his back. "L…Luke, can I, uh, talk to you for a sec?" he spoke quickly, looking around the room as if making sure no one was around.

Luke released Clementine from the hug and let her slide onto the couch, before standing up and following Nick. The little girl sat on the couch by herself, wondering where everyone was. That was until out of the corner of her eye, she saw Walter walking down the steps that led out the front door.

She slid off the couch and ran to the top of the stairs. She looked down through the glass doors and saw Walter standing at the edge of the deck, examining something in his hands.

She had never been able to walk downstairs by herself before, but there was a first time for everything. She sat on the top step and pulled herself forward, landing on the next step with a quiet thud. She continued moving down the steps on her butt until she reached the bottom, and stood up.

The door was open slightly so she squeezed out through the crack, the coldness of the outside air hitting her hard. "W…Walter?" she asked, putting her hands behind her and twirling her foot nervously.

The man straightened up but didn't turn to face her. "I…I heard that kid- What's his name, Nick? I heard him talking about shooting a man. I knew from the way he was acting that he knew he messed up… I told him not to go out there, but no, Matt always knew better…" he was ranting about something that the toddler didn't understand.

"What did Nick do?" she asked, growing concerned by the way Walter was clutching the item in his hands. When he turned to face her, her eyes widened. He was holding the knife she found back at the small shack with Alvin. "I gave this to Matthew when the dead started walking…" he muttered, his eyes glistening with tears.

He lifted his gaze to Clementine's tiny form on front of him. "Is…is Nick a good man, Clementine? Is he…is he a good man, or is he just like everyone else?!" he shouted loudly, scaring the girl more than she liked.

She felt tears spring into her eyes, as she opened her mouth, "He's good! He's my friend!" she cried, fearing the man she thought was so nice and kind. The glass door next to her opened and Nick walked out, looking worried again.

When he saw the girl crying silently on front of him, he picked her up and turned to Walter; already knowing what was going on. Walter's eyes where filled with hatred. "Just, tell me what you did to him! Did you hurt him?!" he sobbed, tightening his grip on the blade again.

Nick felt so awkward with Clementine hiding her face in his shoulder while he raised his free hand to calm down the bald man. "I…I'm so sorry Walter. I…I shot Matthew; I didn't know if I hit him, but I did, and I- He aimed at me so I aimed back and- I'm so sorry!" Nick apologised sincerely for the first time ever.

Walter's eyes widened as all the hatred in his eyes turned to more sorrow. He looked down at the knife in his hands before throwing it over the deck and turning his back to the two guests at his humble abode.

There was a sudden gust of wind, so strong that the huge wind turbine that gave the ski lodge electricity started spinning faster than it should have been. It was really loud, and Nick knew it was going to attract walkers.

Everyone appeared at the door, Kenny leading the way. "What happened? Walt…?" the bearded man asked, staring at the back of Walters head. Before anyone could speak, Kenny's head turned in the direction of the wind turbine. "We've gotta shut that thing off! Someone help me get the guns!" he demanded, running back inside.

"Guns?!" Sarita gasped.

Nick handed Clementine to Carlos before helping Kenny and Luke give guns to everyone except, Rebecca, Alvin and Sarah. "Stay here, sweetie! Keep Clem safe." The group doctor told his daughter, passing Clementine off again. He then disappeared outside with the others.

As Sarah kneeled down next to the window looking out towards the wind turbine, there was a huge bang and all the lights went out, leaving the four survivors in darkness. Clementine squinted her eyes, looking as far as possible to the people outside. She noticed Luke and Kenny running away from the rest of the group and disappearing into the darkness.

Her heart dropped as she lost sight of her two guardians.

Sarah noticed her uneasiness and gave her a small hug. "It's alright, Clem. They'll know what to do." She whispered, receiving a smile from Rebecca and her husband. The wind turbine slowly started to stop spinning and everyone noticeably calmed down.

Clementine moved away from Sarah and started walking over to a different window, in search of Luke or Kenny. Instead of finding them, she saw a whole bunch of walkers flood out of the trees.

Her breath hitched, as she ran back over to Sarah and gripped the teens arm. Sarah didn't flinch or even acknowledge Clementine's presence as she was too busy watching out for her dad. He had just been grabbed from behind but luckily got away unharmed; dropping his rifle in the scare of the moment though.

"Clem, come here." Rebecca whispered, noticing the girl's fear, and Sarah's daze. Clementine let go of Sarah and took a hold of Rebecca instead. "It's gonna be okay, baby girl…" the woman soothed the toddler by whispering sweet nothings into her cap.

Alvin was preparing to go out and help Nick, who was being attacked by a lone walker away from everyone else; except Walter. He stayed where he was, however, when Walter shot the walker in the head, freeing Nick from its grasp so they could both run to Sarita and Carlos's side.

As the fighting group members prepared to fight off the rest of the undead, a flurry of gunshots from in the trees stopped them from using any ammo. Four people emerged from the treeline, one of the Rebecca instantly recognise, "Carver!"

Before Clementine could even get a look at the people to see if they really were Carver and his gang, Sarah had gasped "Dad!" and ran outside, leaving Rebecca to call out for her in a failed attempt to bring her back.

Alvin stood up and pulled Rebecca up with him, making his way towards the stairs after he saw Carver point at the lodge and his minions start making their way towards the doors.

Clementine watched the people outside getting closer, but she could move. She was frozen in shock. It was too dark outside to tell who the people were, but she knew they were trouble.

"Clem!" Alvin called, being quiet, but loud enough so the girl could hear him. She turned to look at him crouched on the bottom of the stairs, waiting for her to go to him. She finally started moving, running towards him.

Her foot caught on the rug next to the couch and she fell onto her stomach, winding herself badly. She coughed and wheezed as she heard the main doors open allowing wind to howl through the spooky lodge.

Fear took over as she started crawling on front of the couch, trying to hide from the people and also stop crying at the same time.

"Damn. This place is huge; got a lot of windows. Bill's gonna hate it…" Clementine recognised that voice. She stood up and pulled herself to the side of the couch, peaking out to see two people she recognised looking around the lodge in awe.

"Man, how does he expect us to cover every inch of this place?!" Johnny gasped, turning to face the other familiar face. "Just, cover that window over there, Johnny." Bonnie demanded, pointing in Clementine's direction.

The girl sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest, and trying to think of a way to get to Alvin before Johnny noticed the both. She didn't know if he was working for Carver still, but she didn't want to give herself up and find out.

Alvin motioned for her to just run towards him, but she shook her head as Johnny's boots came closer and closer to her. The armed man walked to the window, surprisingly not noticing Clementine or Alvin as he walked right by them both.

The toddler took this as her chance and stood up, running towards Alvin. Once again, she tripped and landed on her stomach with a thud that echoed around the lodge.

Johnny spun around, aiming his gun at the girl, but quickly lowering the weapon when he realised who it was. Clementine noticed the huge bruise the engulfed the left side of his face. His eyes widened and he looked to the right to see Alvin crouched at the stairs, hands raised in surrender.

With an agitated sigh, Johnny picked the girl up under the arms and handed her to Alvin. "You gotta be quieter next time, kid; If I had been Bill, you'd have been sorry…" he whispered, pushing the other man up the stairs, before returning to the window with a smirk on his face.

Troy had rounded everyone up in a line kneeling on front of the reception desk of the ski lodge; just inside the door. Carver approached them, eyeing each one of them carefully. He then turned to look around the ski lodge, his eyes following the barrier around the hall upstairs; the barrier Alvin, Rebecca and Clementine were hiding behind.

Rebecca had to keep the girl calm as an eerie silence took over the area. Alvin was peering through a gap in the wooden beam, waiting for the mad man to look away. Carver did just that, turning his attention to the doctor.

He walked forward and grabbed Carlos by the arm and dragged him into the middle of the floor, where he delivered a punch to his stomach, knocking him to his knees again. Carlos coughed and wheezed as he caught his breath.

"Dad!" Sarah cried, trying to break out of the rope Troy had tied her hands together with.

Bonnie stood nearby, looking at Walter regretfully as he stared at her in shock and betrayal.

"Listen, I'm only gonna ask you once. Where's Rebecca?" Carve hissed from where he stood behind Carlos. The Spanish man ignored him and looked to his daughter. "Sarah, listen to me. It's gonna be okay…" he was proven wrong when Carver grabbed him by the hair, getting his walls down, then grabbing him by the hand and snapping his index finger back.

Carlos screamed in pain, as Sarah sobbed for the man to stop. Everyone else was too shocked to speak; even Nick was lost for words.

"Rebecca, our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety. I know you're out there, and Alvin, and Luke, and the girl…" Alvin muttered something under his breath as he clenched his fist in anger at what Carver just said.

Clementine faced Rebecca, preparing to cry loudly, but wanting to let the woman know first. The way her lip trembled was enough of a hint to Rebecca. "Shhh…" the soon to be mother hushed the little girl quietly, not preparing to give up yet.

"W…why's Carlos sad?!" Clementine asked, trying to look through a gap to see him, but being stopped by the two adults. The woman didn't answer her question, only shook her head and closed her eyes.

Another cry from the doctor reached their ears, followed by Sarah begging Carver to stop. "Bec, we gotta go down there. He'll kill him!" Alvin finally gave in to the torture downstairs.

"What? No! I can't do that…" Rebecca said, pulling Clementine closer to herself so the girl was sitting on her thighs. "What about the baby? You _need_ a doctor!" Alvin exclaimed, pointing to his wife's stomach.

Rebecca lowered her head, as Clementine lifted hers. "Where's Luke and Kenny?" she whispered, making Rebecca's head shoot back up. "Maybe they can help us?" she asked, hoping Alvin would agree with her this time. Sadly, he didn't.

"Look at those guns! We start shooting, and people are gonna die on both sides." He explained, actually making a really good point. Alvin sighed, "We're going down there." Rebecca looked at him sadly, locking eyes with her husband. "He'll kill you…" They both just stared at each other for a second, until Carlos caught there attention.

"Shoot him! Somebody just shoot hi-" Carver cut him off by placing a knife to his neck. Alvin gave his wife one more pleading look, before she gave in. Rebecca stood up, with Clementine still in her arms, and looked over the railing. "Bill, STOP!" she demanded.

Carver smirked up at her and threw Carlos onto the ground, letting him grab his hand and groan in pain. Sarah was whimpering over what just happened as Bonnie brought Carlos back over to the others, and Rebecca, Clementine and Alvin all started making their way downstairs.

Alvin was escorted to a spot next to the others by Troy while Carver stopped Rebecca by caressing her cheek. "Are you alright?" he asked. The pregnant lady glared at him and jerked her face away from his hand. "Fuck you Bill." She hissed.

Carver smirked at her and then turned his attention to Clementine. "It's nice to see you again, Clem." He said, sticking out his hand for her to shake. She didn't want to be rude, so she put her hand in his and let him do what he wanted.

He smiled at her before walking next to Bonnie and looking at all his prisoners. "We got everything under control?" he asked the southern woman, who nodded her head in response. She then turned her attention to Johnny, "Aren't you gonna come on over and see Clem?" she called.

Johnny turned around and shook his head, just as the window he was keeping watch at smashed around him and a gunshot rang through the air. He dived onto the ground, covering his head with his hands while Carver, Bonnie and Troy all took cover behind some wooden pillars inside the lodge.

Bonnie peeked around the corner, watching Johnny crawl to the safety of the couch, and then searched for anyone out the window. "I don't see 'em." She said.

Carver left his post, "Watch them." He approached the people kneeling by the counter and pulled Walter up by the collar. He dragged the unarmed man to the smashed window, and without any hesitation, but a bullet between his eyes.

"That's what you get for trying to kill one of my men!" he shouted out into the darkness before taking cover behind a pillar closer to the window. "I don't want to do this, but you ain't leaving me much choice. So here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna march another one of your friends out here, and I'm gonna put a bullet in the back of their head. Or, you can give up now! Your choice…" he explained, ignoring the cries of Sarah getting louder in the background.

Another shot was fired from outside, and Carver rolled his eyes before approaching his victims again. He stood on front of Alvin, smirking down at him menacingly. Clementine wiggled around in Rebecca's arms, and since the woman was so worried for her husband's safety, she put the girl down without a second thought.

As soon as Clementine's feet touched the ground, she ran on front of Alvin and looked up at Carver innocently. "_Please_ don't hurt him…" she whimpered, already feeling terrible about the death of Walter.

Carver's smirk only grew when she stood on front of him, so much, it had become a wide smile. "Alight, Clementine. If that's what you want…" he said, bending down and scooping the girl up into his arm. He started marching to the window, holding Clementine tightly so she couldn't get away.

"Wait, Bill, stop!" Rebecca gasped, reaching out for the kid, but being kept in place by the gun aimed her way.

Carver placed his gun to Clementine's head, feeling her hand hold his in a poor attempt to stop him. "We can do this all night! Is that what you want?" he called out into the cold, dark night.

Everything was quiet for a moment, Rebecca and Clementine being the only two people who weren't tied up; not that it meant anything good for Clementine – she was still being held at point blank range.

The main doors slowly opened and Kenny stepped inside, his hands raised as he surrendered to the mad man and his followers. Clementine was handed to Johnny who had rose from his place on the ground near the couch and offered to watch her.

Carver warned him not to try anything this time, in which the younger man responded, "Yeah, I won't…" while rubbing the bruised side of his face.

Kenny was tied up and thrown to his knees next to Sarita. "Where's Luke? Finally cut and run, huh? Why am I not surprised? I warned you. I warned you not to follow him. Look where he's led you. But your safe now", Carver turned to look at Rebecca, "We're going home. As a family."

Troy and Bonnie stood by his side, guns in hands. "Alright, round 'em up. We're heading back to camp!" he ordered, walking out the main doors, while he left Bonnie, Troy and Johnny to gather the prisoners.

Clementine sat in Johnny's arm while he dragged Nick up by the arm. She was scared, she could admit that, but it wasn't Carver that had her so upset.

It wasn't the fact that a gun had been placed to her head.

It wasn't because of the fear she had felt; was still feeling, while her friends where all being tied up and tortured.

No.

It was something else that she couldn't get out of her head.

_"Don't worry, Clem. I'll keep you safe! I'll stay with you and protect you 'till the end."_

Where was Luke?

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><p><strong>AN - Okay, so, that probably took you a while to read (I mean it took me TWO DAYS to edit) The reason this chapter is so long, is to soften the blow of what I'm about to tell you. My mock exams start next week, and will continue for the next three weeks after that. I'll be devoting all my time to studying so this _might_ be the last update for a while... I said MIGHT! I maybe, could upload a small chapter here and there, but nothing like I was before; unless your willing to wait longer for it. So, PLEASE don't forget to Review, let me know what you think will happen to Clem, and make sure to vote if you think she should stay with the team (even though Luke - aka. Her team - is gone now) or should she join Carver :) Seeya next time, whenever that will be... Baiii**

**~-Meg xxx**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N - I'M BAAACK! :P Did you miss me? Of course you did ;) So, the exams are over (for now), I am completely refreshed, AND I have the next week off school which means more time to write! Onto Reviews:**

**thatonegirlattheparty: Why not just fan girl externally? :P**

**GolfballFan: Johnny is developing slowly, I don't plan on killing him off anytime soon (but votes are getting close, so it could come later...) And Carver may be a little different than you first see him, but that will make sense NEXT chapter ;)**

**Rebloxic: My exact thoughts... Carvers place is pretty well held together, why would you wanna leave such a safe haven?!**

**leafs nation: Clem is badass. It doesn't matter what age she is XD**

**fanfictionisahobby: Again, there is a surprise coming to do with Carver but it's NEXT CHAPTER! :P leafs backed up my idea (thanks bud) And Johnny is my work in progress, if you will. The votes are getting heated though...**

**DarknessSparkles: Wassup mate! I'm so glad you like this fic (and me) :3 Walter IS dead, sorry, don't cry... And there is no vote to keep someone alive, but so far, NO ONE had voted Sarah to die so she's in the clear!**

**Cam: Heyyy, again! I am back now, sorry for the wait, I know it must have killed you ;P Tell Addie I said 'Heyyy' too. Nick is being effected hard in this chapter (spoiler) so you'll like this :) Naps are important. End of story. Clem's burn was a lesson learned, because every three year old needs a few mistakes to learn from; trying to eat before dinner being the one I so mindlessly chose. I decided if Kenny had taken the shot, the group would hate him a lot more than planned and it would eventually just turn into a Kenny-Kills-Everyone-In-An-Act-Of-Vengeance-For-All-Their-Rudeness kind of fic :D Mike and Jane are more next chapter, oops :3 Thanks for reviewing (LIKE ALWAYS)**

**Guest: I can't stand Cluke just as much as you, so trust me, this isn't a Cluke :/ We are only on chapter nine, slow down... :)**

**Guest: There is a lot wrong with us people... I mean, this is the Walking Dead Fandom! You better leave while you can :P**

**killjarkidranger: I'm done stressing, mocks are over *sighs* You are wrong, my friend. I am the cutest :3**

**Guest: Meh, that's what I like to hear :) **

**Bellz645546: Here's the next update, from me, to you. :) Last time I wrote the Carver camp scene, Clem died... :P You have every right to be nervous. Thanks for the luck, it surprisingly helped me out a bunch! XD**

**StoryGlory7D: I don't want to kill you, so I recommend you stop reading because I can reveal suspense is my specialty. :D**

**Seattle is gay: That's a very creative name :) I respect your opinion and honestly, it is trash, so welcome to chapter 9 XD**

**Enough of my bold, 'I'm in charge!' gibberish (Cam :P), To the story! - Enjoy**

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><p>"Why can we not go <em>real<em> toilet?" Clementine asked as Sarah walked away from the truck with her in search of a bush to do their business behind. The older girl gave the toddlers hand a light squeeze before replying, "There's no bathrooms in the middle of nowhere, Clem."

The younger girl nodded her head, understanding the logic behind that answer, but still questioning why they couldn't have waited until they got somewhere they could go indoors.

Sarah helped Clementine use the toilet before asking the child to wait by the tree's for her to finish. The three year old didn't argue and stood by the treeline, next to the dirt road that the truck holding everyone else was parked, waiting for Sarah to be done.

A brown moth landed on the trunk of a tree next to her, catching her eye, and making her smile. It had been a while since she had seen such a pretty creature; one she wasn't going to have to eat to survive.

Her little fingers reached out to touch the winged beast, but just before she could feel the moth's wing, it flew away, disappearing into the shrubbery that surrounded her. A frown tugged at her lips, her mind functioning like the three year old girl it was in charge of, wondering why the animal flew away.

"Are you two 'bout finished over there?" Troy's voice turned Clementine's attention to the right, where Troy was standing behind the truck, watching them her from afar.

"Yeah, just a minute." Sarah called, walking out from behind the bush, fixing her pants in the process. "Ready to head back, Clem?" Clementine slipped her hand into Sarah's and they started walking back towards the truck.

Carver, Bonnie and Johnny had exited the vehicle and were now standing near Troy, waiting for the girls to return. As they got closer, Troy smirked in their direction. "Everything come out alright, girls?" he asked, his smirk remaining plastered on his face while Sarah scrunched her nose up in disgust.

Clementine didn't know what he meant, but if Sarah didn't like it, then neither did she.

"Get 'em tied up." The boss commanded, turning his back to Troy and the young girls. Troy started tying Sarah's wrists together again, while the younger girl looked over to Bonnie and Johnny, who were whispering quietly to each other, and then to Carver who pulled a radio out of his pocket and pressed the button on the side.

"Well, we're on our way; probably thirty minutes out. Make sure everyone's prepped. Emotions may be running high. Carver out." Once he was done talking into the device, he lowered it away from his mouth and looked at Johnny.

"If I find out you and Troy have been wasting fuel to keep that fucking heater going, I'll make you walk back." He stated, giving the man a cold glare. If there was one thing he hated more than ignorance and rivalry, it was wasting of his precious, hard to obtain fuel.

"Nope. We froze out asses off; just like you told us to." Johnny said, facing Bonnie once more. He rolled his eyes as he turned away, but was lucky to have been just off the radar of the leaders watchful eye.

Troy was almost done tying the rope tight around Sarah's wrists, when Carver noticed Clementine listening in on everything he had been saying. "It ain't polite to be listening in on other folk's conversations. Has anyone ever taught you that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the little girl.

She frowned at the accusation and bowed her head, although it was true that she shouldn't have been listening in. "I'm sorry…" she whimpered, thinking he might try and hurt her again, like back at the ski lodge.

Surprisingly, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked up to see the man she feared kneeling at her level and smiling at her softly. "It's okay, honey, don't cry. We'll chalk it up as a lesson learned, alright?" he said, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze and then standing back up.

Clementine smiled up at him, silently thanking him before Troy took her hands and started tying them together like Sarah's. "When you're done there, Troy, get the girls in the back with the rest of 'em. We've got a bit of a drive ahead of us." The gravelly voiced man said, heading back to the front of the truck to take his seat.

Bonnie and Johnny kept watch for any walkers while Troy pulled the door at the back of the truck up and motioned for the girls to get in with his gun. Sarah slowly climbed inside, but Clementine couldn't due to her height. Luckily, Bonnie noticed her problem and came to her assistance, lifting her under the arms and standing her in the back of the truck.

A quiet 'thank you' reached the woman's ears; something no one had said to her in a while. "No problem…" she mumbled, watching the girls take their seat.

"Are you guys okay?" Sarita asked, being the first person to question the children's safety while they were away from the rest of the group. She was very mindful of others well-being, especially two little girls.

"The hell did he do to you? Hey, Clem, did he hurt you?" Kenny asked, trying to catch the girls attention, but she wouldn't look at him. He turned his head to look at the door that Troy was preparing to close. "Hey, Hey!" he shouted, but he was ignored and the metal door was slammed shut.

The truck began to move, driving over many bumps on the trail, causing everyone inside to bounce around since there were no seats or seatbelts to keep them safe and in place. No one spoke, only looked around at each other, hoping everything would be okay.

"All right, we gotta do something…" Kenny finally broke the silence, looked around the truck in search of something. "Anybody got anything sharp?" he asked, turning his gaze to the people around him. "We need to get these bindings off." He stated, since no one seemed to hear him, or understand him; they were all ignoring him.

"Hey, Clem, help me find something to get these off. Anything sharp that could cut these…" he put his hope in the young girl he had known since the beginning. This question caught the attention on a few people. "Don't get her involved, Kenny." Rebecca said, giving him a cynical look.

The bearded man claimed she was the only one willing to help out around here, and that she was tougher and smarter than all them put together. This caused havoc among the survivors, but Clementine ignored it, looking around for anything to help Kenny with.

Her head looked to the right, examining the door to see if there was anything on it that could cut through the ropes. There was nothing but scraped and scratched in the metal that looked pretty old and rusted. She was about to turn back front, but something caught her eyes on the wall her back was against.

She kneeled up and turned around, inspecting her find while everyone continued mumbling insults at each other.

"I have no idea what you're saying, but-"

"Kenny?" The bearded man stopped mid-sentence, only giving Carlos a half an abusing as he had planned. He looked across the truck to the toddler who called his name. "Yeah, darlin'?" he asked, mentally questioning why she was not sitting down.

"Can this help?" she pulled both her hands up, since they were bound together, and pointed to the broken pipe she had found a few minutes before. Kenny's eyes widened as he stood up and stepped to the other side in one stride. "Jackpot!" he exclaimed, beginning to cut his bindings off with the pointy, rusted part of the pipe.

"Sit down, Kenny." Carlos said, his tone of voice, keeping Clementine in place instead of jumping up to help Kenny more. When Kenny continued to cut through his rope, Carlos grew angrier. "You have no idea what you're dealing with!" he growled, surprising nearly everyone in the truck, but scaring the two youngest girls more than he meant.

His face softened as he looked to his left to offer his daughter comfort.

Clementine just sat silently, hoping no one else said anything.

Kenny couldn't keep his mouth shut. "He gave me a pretty good idea back at the lodge, and I don't intend to sit around here and let that happen to the rest of us." He ranted, rubbing the rope against the rugged pipe with more force. "I'm trying to help." He concluded, finally breaking his hands free and smiling down at Clementine, since she was closest and it was her careful eye that found the pipe in the first place.

"I'm sure Walter really appreciated your help." Carlos mumbled, once again surprising everyone.

Pete released an agitated sigh, finally deciding enough was enough. "We all need to calm down. There ain't no point in arguing about what happened. We gotta be prepared when they open up that damn door." He said, earning an agreement from Sarita and Alvin.

Kenny wasn't so easily calmed down though. "Look, I didn't mean for Walt to die…" he said, bending down next to the three year old. "So don't blame me for that shit!"

Nick decided to speak up and side with his uncle. "Pete's right, can we all just stop arguing…" Rebecca gave him a small smile, but Kenny only found his calmness even more agitating. "I'd stay out of this if I was you, boy." He said, looking across the truck to Nick while he kneeled next to Clementine.

"Mister, I ain't a boy!" Nick exclaimed, feeling suddenly offended by the statement the older man had made. Pete murmured something to his nephew and then they both fell quiet.

Carlos sighed, bowing his head tiredly and looking at his broken fingers. "I was just pointing out that, regardless of intent, there are consequences to rash actions." He explained, his voice back to being quiet, but stern.

Kenny ignored him and put his hand out to Clementine. "How about I help you outha them?" he asked, returning the smile she offered him while she nodded. He picked her up under the arms and stood up straight again, lifting his knee up with his foot resting against his other shin, and sitting the little girl on it so his hands were free to help her cut through the rope.

He began moving her hands back and forth above the pipe, her rope slowly getting worn out, and eventually breaking apart. Kenny smirked as Clementine rubbed her red wrists. He stood her down and kneeled in front of her. "Alright, now we're getting somewhere. Ain't that right, Clem?" he asked, putting his hand out, half expecting the girl to tilt her head to the side curiously and not know what a high five was, but instead, she raised her hand high over her head and slapped his palm hard.

Kenny chuckled softly while ruffling Clementine's hair (well, her cap…) and standing up again. "You're gonna be a fighter…" he whispered to himself, turning to face the door.

"Clem?" Rebecca's voice reached the young girls ears, "Come over here; I don't want you to get hurt." Clementine made a dash for Rebecca, almost falling when the truck drove over more bumps in the road, and snuggled up next to her, looking at the woman's tied up hands concerned.

"Are you cutting them?" she asked, putting her hand on top of the pregnant woman's. After giving a small shake of her head, Rebecca declined, "No, I'll be getting them off soon, don't worry. Until then, just stick close, okay?" Clementine nodded her head and scanned the people around her.

She locked eyes with Nick, but he just sighed and turned his head away. She widened her eyes, hurt by his actions, but she didn't question him since she knew everyone was in a bad mood.

"May I ask what it is you plan to do when they open that door?" Carlos spoke up again, making Kenny look at him once more; that same angry scowl sprawled out across his face. "I'm gonna punch the first sonuvabitch I see, take his gun, and use it to shoot the next sonuvabitch I see!" he exclaimed, making a fist with the hand that wasn't leaned against the wall to keep him steady.

"What's that word?" Clementine asked, looking up at Rebecca curiously.

"It's another swear, Clem. I don't ever want to hear you saying that word." She explained, making the girl face Kenny with a frown of her own. Her gaze was held on him while he looked at her confused. "A swears bad." She stated, watching realisation fall upon his features.

He diverted his eyes to the ground, thinking of an excuse while Alvin chuckled quietly next to Clementine. She turned to look up at him with a small smile. She liked it when Alvin laughed. He was like a big, happy, cuddly teddy that she always wanted around.

"I…uh…I'm sorry, Clem. I'll try harder to bite my tongue next time." Kenny said, making the toddler face him in confusion again. She didn't understand half the things he said. The same went for Luke, Nick and Pete. Their country phrases and peculiar sayings made her wonder how they learned to speak.

Sarah began to whimper quietly from in between Carlos and Rebecca. "There, there, it's okay, everything gonna be okay." Rebecca soothed the teen while Clementine just leaned closer to the woman, getting more scared by the second.

"Maybe at this point, Luke is the only hope we have." Alvin said, grabbing Clementine's attention at the mention of the southern idiot who had saved her from the dark, intimidating solitude of the woods when they first met.

She opened her mouth to ask where he was, but Kenny beat her to it. "If he was going to do something he'd have done it by now." He stated matter of factly, making the youngest girl and boy in the van look at him agitatedly.

Clementine didn't have to courage to speak up, but she didn't have to because Nick was fine with doing it for her. "He'd never abandon us." The young man said, challenging Kenny to a staring contest as both of them looked at each other with equal annoyance on their features.

"Well he ain't here!" the bearded man exclaimed, pointing to the people sitting in the truck.

"He may not be around, but he wouldn't leave us behind." Pete said, catching Kenny off guard as he shut his mouth and turned to face the door.

"Kenny, please come back over here…" Sarita said, waiting for him to do as she asked, but instead he just shook his head and remained silent, waiting for the truck to stop moving.

"Just sit down." Carlos said, growing impatient with Kenny's stubbornness. "This ain't your call, Doc!" he growled, clenching his fist.

Clementine and Sarah locked eyes and the younger of the two offered a smile to the teary eyed teen, making her smile back and calm down.

"Hey, Clem…" Kenny calling her name, made her (and everyone else) look at him awaiting more, "You trust me, right?" he turned to face her and raised a hopeful eyebrow.

Clementine opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Kenny held her gaze, the hopeful glint in his eyes dying out. "I…I…I'm scared, Kenny…" she admitted, frowning at the few sympathetic looks she received from the others.

Nick looked at her with a blank expression, and once again she felt upset about it.

"It's okay to be a little scared, but you know we gotta do this." Kenny said, turning his back to everyone again. "Alright, everybody read-" Kenny's determined question was cut short when the truck hit something, instantly stopping, and send Kenny smashing into the back door.

Clementine was kept in place by Rebecca's arm that moved in front of her chest, and Alvin's leg that was placed on front of her to stop her from sliding forward. She stared at Kenny while Sarita jumped up and skidded to his side. "Kenny! Kenny, are you okay?" she gasped, placing her bound hands on his chest.

"Oh… What hit me?" the bearded man asked, rubbing his face painfully.

"It's probably for the best…" Carlos muttered, receiving a nod from Pete and a shrug from Alvin. "How come?" Clementine asked, moving away from Rebecca and crawling closer to Carlos. He looked at her with a hint of concern on his face, and shook his head, "It's nothing, Clem."

The three year olds head spun to the door as it was pulled open. The light from outside blinded her after being stuck inside the dark truck for so long. She felt something go over her head and pull her backwards by the stomach. When her eyes adjusted after a few seconds, she looked up to see Pete with his bound hands around her waist, holding her on his lap.

At the door, Troy, Bonnie, Johnny and another woman standing outside. "Damn brakes ain't working for shit!" Troy hissed, facing the black woman with the curly hair; kind of like Rebecca's.

Kenny sat up and rubbed his head while Sarita stood up next to him. "Hey, how'd you get your bindings off?!" Troy yelled, watching Kenny get to his feet. No one answered, and Troy seemed to drop it as the prisoners all started climbing out of the back of the truck.

Pete kept a hold of Clementine' making sure to keep her hands hidden, just in case Troy got agitated that more than one of the had gotten out of the rope. Clementine looked around at the huge shelves in the building they were walking through, she admired the amount of food that each one held, and she smiled at a few people who waved at her when they noticed such a young person was joining the community.

As the group were rounded into a small garden, Bonnie stopped Pete, Clementine and Nick, "Stay away from the wall. Carver can see if you're messing with it." Pete nodded and started walking forward again, but Nick stayed still, staring at Bonnie momentarily. "Thanks, Bonnie…" he muttered before following his uncle into the pen.

Troy and Johnny untied everyone, Johnny spending a little longer with Pete and Clementine, "I'm warning you now, I'm not gonna be there to save your as- you next time, so behave yourself and I'll seeya around." he said quietly, only loud enough for Pete and the girl to hear.

"I'll be good." Clementine told him, watching him acknowledge her statement, but not look her in the eye. "I'll keep her in line." Pete said, backing the girl up on the case he was only starting to understand. Johnny finished collecting the rope and said a quick goodbye before leaving with Troy while the gate was shut and the group were left standing by it, depressed and confused.

A man with one arm approached them from a small fire surrounded by lawn chairs. "Hey, guys." He greeted, smiling warmly at the group.

"Reggie!" Rebecca gasped, pulling the one armed man into a hug, "What happened to you?!"

Reggie shook his head, pointing to his stump with his other arm, "Don't worry, this happened way after you guys left." He assured her. Rebecca didn't seem to hear him and began apologising. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered, staring at his stump guiltily.

"Really, It wasn't your fault!" he insisted, looking around at everyone else. He spotted Kenny and Sarita, not even noticing Clementine who looked around the yard from where she was in Pete's arms still.

She was ignoring everything happening around her as she stared at a blonde haired woman sitting by herself on some benches across the yard. They both held each others gaze, even from so far apart, and neither showed any signs of looking away anything soon.

"…and lastly there's Clementine." Rebecca mentioning her name brought the girls attention back to everyone at the gate. Pete stood her down and she pushed through Kenny and Sarita to see the new man. "This is Reggie, Clem." Rebecca said, informing the girl about the man on front of her.

Reggie kneeled down and beamed at the youngest girl. "She's so cute! Hi, Clementine." He chuckled, watching her examine his face carefully. "Hi!" she chirped, finally smiling at him as her gaze wandered to his missing limb. "Hey, where's your arm?!" she gasped, reaching out to touch it in case it was invisible, but not feeling anything.

"Clementine!" Alvin laughed, shaking his head at the girls blunt question. Reggie just laughed along with him, "It's alright. I lost it, sweetie." He told the girl.

"Can we find it?" she asked innocently. Rebecca put her hand on the girls head. "I don't think we can, Clem." She said, sadly. Clementine frowned at this information. She raised her hand and offered a determined smirk. "You can have mine if you promise give it back!" she stated, turning to face the others who had all started laughing at her.

She smiled innocently, not understanding what was so funny, but just being happy with everyone else. "Thanks, Clem…" Reggie stood up and gave his attention to the grown-ups. "I'm lucky to be alive. And Bill says I'm doing well and should earn a place back in the community soon! Look, guys, it's not that bad here, I mean when's the last time you had electricity?!" he exclaimed, smirking at everyone, but only receiving shocked gaping stares from his old friends.

"Actually we just came from a ski lodge with a wind turbine and-"

"It's not a competition…" Reggie's face fell as he cut Sarah's excited explanation off before he was made more of a fool than he already seemed to be.

"Could you keep it down over there?! Some of us gotta work in the morning…" A man shouted across the garden, making everyone look his way. Clementine couldn't see him, but she didn't really care.

Noticing Nick leaving the scene by the gate caught her attention. She pulled on the closest sleeve to her, which just so happened to be Pete. He bent down to her level and looked at her sombrely, waiting for her to speak. "Am I allowed leave?" she asked kindly, smiling sweetly at the greying man just to add some sugar to her request.

She learned that it can get her a lot of things.

Grown-ups were so stupid.

Pete smiled at her and nodded his head. "Yeah, Clem. Go on." He said, standing back up and looking at Reggie once more. "Sorry about that…" Reggie's apology to the mysterious man was the last of the group's conversation Clementine heard before she started making her way towards Nick; who had climbed into one of the make shit beds out of old wooden shelves.

He was in the middle shelf, one that was too high for Clementine to see onto from up close. As she quickly made her way towards the beds, her eyes locked with the silent woman at the picnic table once more. Their eyes only held the gaze for a second before both girls lost interest and looked away.

As Clementine came to the side of the shelf, Nick sat up from his lying position and leaned on his elbow to look down at her. "Hey, Clem…" he greeted glumly. The three year old twirled her foot nervously before asking, "Can I, uh, sit with you?"

Nick looked taken back by her request, but shook that look off his face and lay back down. "Sorry, Clementine, but I'm tired. I'm gonna hit the hay." He explained. He'd always have an excuse not to be stuck with her, but the young girl often got around him. He wondered what stupid sob story she would have this time.

If she told him she was lonely again like that time she made him hold her hand, he would send her on her way.

He grew curious of where the girl had gone since she hadn't spoken and everything just went quiet. He opened his eyes and looked to the side, seeing the toddler with her shoulders slouched, pouting at the ground.

With an exasperated sigh, Nick sat up and swung his legs out of the bed (being careful not to hit Clementine). His feet barely reached the ground, and he was the tallest member of the group! "What's the matter?" he asked, softly, feeling a hint of sympathy for the girl who had to grow up in such a shit world, "Do you really wanna hang with me that bad?"

Clementine shook her head, completely missing the joke in his question. She lifted her head, and with a heavy heart she opened up to the shabby man. "I…I…I miss Luke…" she admitted, the frown on her face pulling down more.

Nick's mouth hung open as he thought about his friend that had gone missing. Nick missed him, and he knew Luke and Clementine had grown close, so her loss of him must have been hurting a little more.

He leaned forward and lifted up the girl sitting her on his knee, like back outside the small shack at the bridge. "He's coming back, Clem. He'd never abandon us; we're family, and family always have each other's backs, no matter what!" he exclaimed, making Clementine wonder what other surprising things would come out of the usually silent, depressed man's mouth.

"B-but Kenny said-"

"Ignore Kenny! He doesn't know Luke like us. I know he'll come back. I know it! You gotta have a little hope in him, Clem! So what do you say? Luke's coming back?!"

By now the group by the gate had moved to some lawn chairs by a small fire in the middle of the garden. When they heard Nick's loud question, they turned to look at him and Clementine with amused expressions.

The three year old giggled at the hidden Nick that had revealed himself to her. "Luke's coming back!" she chanted, throwing her hands into the air and making Nick chuckle slightly. "Alright! Just, uh, don't tell anyone about this…" his words died on his tongue when he stole a glance from Pete and noticed everyone had heard his exclamation.

With a shake of his head, Nick rubbed his eye, with his hand that wasn't around Clementine's back, tiredly.

"Does you know any story?" the girls question caught him off guard. It was just one of those things he never understood about her; the questions that just came out of the blue.

She was a puzzle.

"Um, nope. Don't know any stories." He said, watching her amber beauties try and pry into his soul through his icy blue shields. A smirk suddenly appeared on his face as he cockily stated, "I thought you didn't like stories, anyway."

Clementine's eyes widened in shock at this accusation and she shook her head vigorously. "I love stories! BUT, only at sleep time…" she explained, watching Nick's smirk slowly disappear off his face.

Well, I guess every day's a school day.

"Oh…" he dumbly muttered, feeling shot down at his attempt to belittle the child. He knew it was mean, but he was just messing around and trying to live a normal life for once. He didn't know why he was even trying; He knew she was sly and could easily turn the tables, humiliating him while he's at his weakest point.

"So you're tired?" he asked, receiving a nod and a yawn to prove it.

"I'll tell you one, if you want…" she said, a hint of childish excitement joining her tired optic emotion revealers.

Nick didn't answer straight away, he was too busy thinking about how she managed to lighten the mood and find some good in any situation. Instead of facing the facts that Nick didn't have a story for her, she offered to make one up instead; giving both of them the same entertainment boost any known by heart classic ever would have.

"'Cos you said _you_ were tired, so a story can help!" she explained, leaning closer to him so she could get comfortable before starting her tale; if Nick allowed it.

She was keen on rubbing him the wrong way sometimes, but he was the adult and he knew what was best, so if he didn't want a story, then she wouldn't argue.

Although she was good at using what knowledge she could gain against people, she was still only a child and she depended on her guardians guidance, no matter how small of a situation it was she needed their insight on.

What they said went; it was basic knowledge for any child, even one growing up in the apocalypse.

"O-Okay, Clem. Tell me a story." Nick said, making her beam up at him and settle into his arms more. They sat on the edge of the bed for twenty minutes listening to the story that Clementine ever so carefully thought up.

Nick found himself getting lost in the sometimes inaudible muffle or jumbled up sentences she was trying her hardest to say clearly and properly. Surprisingly, he actually understood what she was trying to get at. She was telling him about a whole bunch of people he assumed she just made up; such as Lee, Duck, Lilly, etc.

She mentioned his name a few times and the rest of the group too. In the end, she took a short pause, leaving an awkward silence to linger in the air around them, before finishing, "Nick was a stronger than the monsters and he stopped those from scaring all the group! He saved our _family_! The end."

A proud smile made its way onto Nick's face. Clementine had made _him_ the hero of the story and that, much to his surprise, warmed his heart. "That was great, Clem! And I'm _so_ tired now. Ready to sleep?" he asked, only realising how tired he really was after the girl had stopped talking for good.

She nodded her head once more before cuddling closer to him, closing her eyes, and catching the burly man off guard. Nick shifted uncomfortably on the bed, finding the girls warmth against his stomach awkward and unnerving. He made an oath he wasn't going to get attached… "Uh…Clem?" he started, about to tell her to get lost and find her own bed.

Instead, he realised her breathing had slowed down and she had fallen asleep on his bony lap. He looked over to the fire, where the group were still discussing something he didn't want to be part of, and made a decision. He was _not_ keeping the toddler for the night. Not then, not ever.

He carefully stood up, being careful not to wake the girl, and held her in his arms like the baby she realistically was.

She was very skinny, incredibly light, and very short for her age. He could have mistaken her for a two year old, maybe even younger! It played in his mind, how the truth of the situation was that she was growing up, probably almost four years old, and she didn't know the true dangers the were faced outside. She was weak, innocent, and had a huge heart. He didn't want to destroy her innocence, but it would eventually have to happen.

He approached the people on the lawn chairs. "Can someone take her?" he asked, the pleading tone of his voice not being hidden at all. He received a smirk from his uncle, which he scowled at before facing the others.

"I'd take her, but I ain't sure I have anywhere to lay her down…" Kenny said, scratching his beard awkwardly as his lack of experience with children beamed through his brute personality.

Rebecca stood up and put her arms out, offering to take the girl, "She can share my bed. It _is_ the only one with a mattress…" she whispered, being careful not to wake the child who was bound to be grumpy if she was awoken by such terms as talking.

Nick handed her over gratefully.

Clementine stirred in Rebecca's arms but luckily didn't wake up. The soon to be mother walked over to her bed and laid the girl down on the still bouncy surface. The girl was going to enjoy jumping on that when she realised it was possible.

Rebecca knew there was no covers, but the toddler was bound to be used to sleeping without one by now. She made her way back to the chairs while Nick got back into bed and almost instantly fell asleep.

Clementine gained consciousness and closed her eyes tighter after hearing a loud screeching noise, and Troy's voice calling out for everyone to get to bed.

She noticed two things; one, she wasn't in Nick's embrace anymore, and two, she was alone.

Just before she peeled her eyes open to see where the man she was with last went, she felt someone else lie down beside her. A hand was placed against her cheek and Rebecca's quiet voice reached her ears, "Shhh, go back to sleep, baby girl…"

The woman's words became fainter and quieter as complete darkness consumed the three year old once more.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Now I am onto chapter 10 AND will have reached 100 reviews on this chapter! That's awesome, and I'd like to thank everyone who reviews and votes (speaking of votes, there had been a slight change to the 'who should die' choice; nothing too big don't worry.) So PLEASE review and head back to chapter 7 for votes, you know I love to hear from all of you, and last but not least, a question to my followers and readers: Does anyone want to be my Valentine? :3 Love you's all, so Happy Valentine's Day EVERYONE! Baiii**

**~-Meg xxx**


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